11 unions say UMass bargaining in bad faith

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff  |  August 26, 2008

With contract negotiations flagging, labor unions at the state's colleges and universities have filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against the state Board of Higher Education and the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts, accusing them of bargaining in bad faith.

Eleven higher education unions, which represent nearly 10,000 faculty and staff at three University of Massachusetts campuses and all nine Massachusetts state colleges, contend that the state and UMass boards are violating state law by refusing to submit any salary proposals after several months of negotiations. Contract talks for the bulk of the unions began in January, and most contracts expired at the end of June.

"Higher education unions have been at the bargaining table for eight months and the administration still refuses to make any economic offer," said Max Page, a UMass-Amherst professor and president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, which represents UMass-Amherst faculty and librarians. "That is against the law."

The higher education board said it needs financial guidelines from state officials before it can enter salary negotiations. The parameters should be handed down in the next two to three weeks, the governor's office said yesterday.

The complaints, filed with the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations last week, represent a rare and aggressive tactic in increasingly contentious negotiations. Employees, who are seeking a 4 percent annual increase to keep pace with the cost of living, have picketed appearances by Governor Deval Patrick this summer to lobby for higher salaries.

It is the first time the college unions have filed such complaints since 1997, when two unions won similar cases. A spokeswoman for the Division of Labor Relations said officials had received the complaints but could not comment on negotiations.

Last year, Patrick asked higher education unions to accept a one-year deal. Most college and university employees received a 3.5 percent raise, which union leaders say amounted to a pay cut because it trailed the inflation rate.

Eileen O'Connor, a spokeswoman for the Board of Higher Education, said the board cannot enter into "productive bargaining negotiations" without direction from the Patrick administration. She said the board "certainly understands the unions' concerns" and has pressed for higher faculty salaries to narrow the gap with UMass instructors' peers at public institutions across the country.

In a statement, Stephen W. Lenhardt, vice president for management and fiscal affairs for the University of Massachusetts, said the university would "stay at the table, as we have always done, for as long as it takes to develop acceptable contracts."

Patrick has the authority to veto negotiated collective bargaining agreements, so contract negotiations typically seek a compromise that is likely to win final approval.

"The administration continues to work diligently to determine what it can do to provide higher education and other state employees with compensation packages that are equitable and prudent given the fiscal challenges that the Commonwealth faces," Leslie A. Kirwan, secretary for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, said in a statement.

The higher education board pointed out that Patrick's so-called Readiness Project, a sweeping blueprint for education policy unveiled earlier this summer, called for an increase in faculty compensation. The board declared it was "standing by to help implement it through the negotiating process."

Earlier this year, the board authorized a 4.1 percent raise for state college presidents, with the potential for an additional 3 percent merit bump; and up to a 4 percent merit increase for nonunion administrators. Union leaders said they were frustrated the Patrick administration had not yet voiced its support for a similar increase for faculty and staff.

"They have neglected their obligation to negotiate fairly with their unions, and we have had enough," said Donna Johnson, who heads a union representing educational support workers at UMass-Amherst. The other two UMass campuses involved in the complaint are Boston and Lowell.

Professors at Massachusetts state colleges earn about $11,000 less annually on average than their peers in other states, according to an independent study released in May. State college professors earned an average of $76,400, compared with $87,600 nationally. Associate professors earned just over $63,000, or $9,000 less than their peers. Assistant professors, who made $55,000, trailed the national average by $5,000.

The disparity, union leaders and administrators said, makes it difficult for the state system to attract and retain top faculty.

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.