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News :: Labor |
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UMass Amherst Unions Confront Trustees, Plan Walkouts |
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by Bryan G. Pfeifer
Email: bgp (nospam) uwm.edu (unverified!) |
10 Nov 2002
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On Nov. 6 over 200 rank-and-file workers from five University of Massachusetts unions confronted the system's Board of Trustees demanding the funding of their contracts. In a spirited face off students of color also demanded the restoration of advising and other services gutted in June.
Walkouts planned |
Walkouts planned
Umass unions confront trustees, demand funding of contracts
By Bryan G. Pfeifer
Amherst, Mass.
"Fund the contracts or we won't work."
This militant message from over 200 rank-and-file members from the campuses' five unions rang through the Mullins Center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Nov. 6.
Responding to Acting Gov. Jane Swift's veto of pay raises for thousands of union members at all 28 state colleges and universities in July, the workers demanded that the Umass System Board of Trustees help get their contracts funded. All unions at the 28 campuses have organized under the coalition Higher Ed Unions United.
Umass President William M. Bulger, who attended the trustee meeting, was the major focus of the unions because, to date, he has failed to pressure House of Representatives speaker Thomas Finneran to permit a vote in the House this fall to override Swift's veto. Instead he has focused on more "entrepreneurial," activities like securing more Pentagon and corporate welfare contracts for the Umass system and has been engaging in attempted union-busting.
Unions at campuses in Massachusetts bargain separate contracts with respective campus administrations. They are then passed on to the governor for consultation. When the legislature votes in the necessary funding, the governor approves the contracts.
Traditionally, once the legislature allocated funds for the contracts, the governor signed off on them. Swift is believed to be the first Massachusetts governor to have vetoed contract funding for campus unions.
Beginning outside in the rain and marching up three flights of stairs to the elegant meeting room where the trustees held their meeting, the rank-and-file and their supporters led the face off with civil-rights era songs and spirited, foot-stomping chants including "Hey, Hey. Ho Ho. Billy Bulger's got to go," "No contracts, no peace", and "Stop the threats, stop the lies, we are strong and organized." Some union members wore bright yellow shirts with the message: "Promises broken."
Presenting a stack of petitions with over 7,700 signatures from higher education workers and students, Ronald Story, president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, declared, "To our knowledge, this is the largest multi-campus petition drive in the history of American university systems."
This "represents a new militancy in the Umass community, one that is likely to grow and expand. We can work together rather than split and start a war." added Story, one of three union presidents to address Bulger and the trustees.
Donna Johnson, University Staff Association (USA) president, a union of clerical and technical workers, said due to budget cuts, lack of funding and forced early retirements, her union staff has dropped from 1,200 to 1,000 members resulting in more work with no increased pay as the cost of living, especially rent, skyrockets.
Johnson told the trustees and her union sisters and brothers that, despite being employed at the university, some of her members were homeless because their wages didn't cover all their expenses. She demanded that the trustees and Bulger immediately help get the contracts funded, start back filling lost positions, and guarantee that students, staff and faculty have sufficient resources to do their jobs correctly.
Thomas Coish, president of SEIU Local 509, representing 1,100 members and a campus worker for over two decades, said campus morale is at the lowest he's seen it, members feel "a real sense of distrust and betrayal" and most feel the university is in a crisis. But they're not giving up.
"The general feeling is, we're going to give (Bulger) one more chance to work with us, to get the contracts funded," added Coish. He reminded the trustees that the AFSCME chapter on campus with over 1,000 members, has voted to authorize its union leaders to call a walkout and two other campus unions, the Graduate Employee Organization with over 2,500 members and the USA have given Bulger a "no confidence" vote. There are over 6,000 union members at Amherst.
Over a dozen members of the African/ Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American affairs (ALANA) student organization were also in attendance demanding the restoration of affirmative action at the university. They also demanded the reinstatement of the vice-chancellor of ALANA affairs, who was fired in June for being sympathetic to students and fighting the gutting of oppressed students' advising services and other support programs which stripped many cultural components. Labor Studies graduate student Jose Perez received applause from the rank-and-file when he demanded of the trustees: "Stop the racism."
Building on previous actions including a first-ever all-union membership meeting Sept. 18, picketing administration meetings and administrators homes, leafleting, and massive demonstrations, plans are in the works for campus-by-campus walkouts and possibly a system wide one during final exams in December if the contracts aren't funded.
"This refusal to fund our contracts isn't simply about the revenue shortfall. It's union-busting, pure and simple," declared a Umass Rank and File newsletter distributed at the Nov. 6 action.
"It's targeted union-busting-higher ed workers were the only public sector workers to not get their contracts funded. Are we, the workers of Umass, going to let this act of union-busting stand?"
For more information on support activities visit www.geouaw.org, www.uaw2322.org, call (413) 545-5317 or email Umassrankandfile (at) yahoo.com.
Pfeifer is a graduate student in the Labor Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
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© 2002 Bryan G. Pfeifer. Article may be used in full or in part with full attribution given to author. |
