Teachers unions demand new contract negotiations

By: Ben Williams, Collegian Staff

Posted: 9/26/08

The Massachusetts teachers unions are nearing the end of their ropes after over six months of failed contract negotiations with the state legislature.

Previous contracts for 11 unions representing Massachusetts teachers are now expired according to Max Page, president of Massachusetts Society of Professors, which represents UMass. Most of those contracts expired in June or July of this year.

Both the Massachusetts Society of Professors and the Massachusetts State College Association (MSCA), which represents the nine state colleges, said they've been meeting with the Board of Higher Education (BHE) since January and February respectively. Their hope was to have the contracts finished before their other contracts expired. But now, nearly six months later, the unions are taking more extreme steps. Because public employees cannot lawfully strike, they're turning to other options.

In early August, the 11 teachers unions that represent all of the teachers and staff at three of the University of Massachusetts campuses and all nine state colleges filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the BHE, according to the Boston Globe.

A statement from the MSCA reads, "the BHE has failed to bargain in good faith as it is obligated to do under the state's collective bargaining law…This failure consists of refusing to bargain over economic matters and refusing to send representatives to the negotiating table with the authority to bargain over economic matters."

Earlier this week, Westfield State College professors and staff formed a picket line on campus.

Max Page said over 100 faculty and staff from UMass Amherst are travelling to Boston today to sit in on the Board of Trustees meeting "to basically tell them off for having failed to present offers at all and in a few cases, awful offers. That's our message tomorrow…We're giving them a chance before taking further action to come to the table with fair offers," he said yesterday.

"My union has not actually gotten a full formal contract offer even though we started bargaining late January," said Page, "What happens is the governor sort of says 'these should be the economic parameters,' but the board of trustees is our actually employer…they have the obligation to make whatever offers are necessary to hire and retain a good faculty."

According to the MSCA, Governor Deval Patrick just released those parameters earlier this month, but the MSCA said they are no where near adequate, especially because the pay increases are scheduled for Jan. 1 and would not be retroactive.

MSCA President Christopher O'Donnell said administration stalled on the negotiations and then offered a proposal that does not account for the fact there were no contracts for six months.

Page said he doesn't know why the negotiations have been so contentious. "We have a democratic governor, who wanted to make public education a top priority and whatever else you have to do if you want to attract and retain top staff and faculty, [you have to pay them well], and UMass staff and faculty are well below their peers [in salary] at every level."

"[UMass] Chancellor Holub, who I like very much, wanted to turn UMass into Berkeley, but you can't do it if you make staff take pay cuts," said Page. "If cost of living increases 4.5 percent; and you get a 2.5 percent raise, it's actually a cut."

O'Donnell agreed and said there are numbers saying state faculty salaries have been underpaid by 10 to 20 percent dating back to 2004. He said some junior faculty members are leaving because they're underpaid, and it makes hiring of new faculty much harder.

"We want to make inroads on that problem too," he said.

Page and O'Donnell both commented that it is frustrating that while the faculty and staff have received nothing, the administrators, presidents and state colleges have received cost of living raises.

Even when unions have been able to arrange meetings with the BHE, things haven't always gone as planned.

The most recent round of negotiations between the MSCA and the BHE occurred this Wednesday, marking the first meeting since the parameters had been released by Patrick. However, O'Donnell said the meeting wasn't what he had hoped.

"On Monday we were told we would not get a comprehensive proposal, we were told to get a financial offer, we didn't get a financial offer, [so the] meeting lasted 30 minutes," he said.

O'Donnell said there is another meeting scheduled for Monday to exchange proposals.

There are other things the MSCA hopes to get out of negotiations as well.

"Certainly expecting retroactivity back to 2008, and a cost of living increase at minimum," said O'Donnell.

The comment from the Executive Office of Education hints that the faltering economy may have played a role in the delay coming out with a proposal.

"We are committed to negotiating a fair and reasonable contract," said Spokesman Jonathan Palumbo, "that respects our union members, recognizes their hard work and dedication to educating our students and is mindful of the current economic situation."

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Ben Williams can be reached at bwilliams@dailycollegian.com.

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