AMHERST — After 20 months of ongoing negotiations with the University of Massachusetts to reach a deal for a new three-year contract, members of the Professional Staff Union again picketed outside the Whitmore Administration Building on Thursday.
A major sticking point in the negotiations is whether a portion of cost-of-living increases (COLA) in the contract should include merit-based pay. While the university proposed continuing COLA adjustments as part of the compensation system for members beginning in January 2027, Chancellor Javier Reyes and university administration want to integrate a performance-based compensation element alongside those raises.
The union argues that the sole purpose of cost-of-living adjustments is to keep state employees’ salaries in line with inflation. If a portion becomes “merit pay,” several employees would have their state-provided raises cut by $750 to $1,500 or more.
“Our members are waiting for their cost-of-living raises from the governor, and that’s why we’re still out here,” said Nellie Taylor, a co-chair of the Professional Staff Union. “Management’s current proposal would … put [the money] in a pool to get distributed to some people based on no rules that management is willing to explain to us, and so we’re saying ‘no.’”
In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, UMass spokesperson Emily Gest said, “We continue to bargain in good faith so we can reach an agreement. In fact, there is a bargaining session tomorrow.”
The standout in Amherst follows a Wednesday picket at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Professional Staff Union represents some 2,400 professional staff members between the two schools, and the two standouts attracted hundreds of union members in total. Over the past year, several additional standouts have taken place.
Picketers weathered below-freezing temperatures in Amherst from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., waving signs and drumming 5-gallon barrels. At lunchtime, dozens of union members formed a circle, chanting, “UMass works because we do.”
Brian DeVore, a father of two and an Amherst resident who works in university relations, was one of the dozens forming the circle. It’s hard to keep up paying his bills as a father, and his property taxes are spiking, he said.
“The governor has said the cost-of-living adjustment is an investment for all state employees,” he said. “We’re state employees. Why should the chancellor get in the way? Like if he wanted to have a different pot of money that was merit-based pay, that would be a different conversation.”
Hannah Bernhard, a communications manager in the Student Success office, argued that instead of paying employees more, Reyes would prefer to send people to the campus’ recently opened food pantry.
“I’ve been active in this contract fight since August of 2024, and in that time, because of the economic crisis we’re in and the way that inflation has worked, I’ve had to begin using the campus food pantry as a staff member, which the administration opened as a solution for staff going hungry,” she said. “So instead of paying us enough to eat, they’ve instead opened a campus food pantry to service the thousands of staff members who self-report food insecurity.”
Alexis Ali, a writer for UMass Magazine, said it’s hard for people, especially families, to afford basic expenses.
“These people who give everything, who have been here decades, struggle to survive,” she said. “They’re not even asking for money to be able to go on vacation. They want to save money so that they have emergency funds. They want to be able to take their kids to the doctor. They want to maybe go out to eat once in a while. They want to not have to look at every price in the grocery store, and they can’t do that.”
She added, “Meanwhile, they’re giving out huge chunks of money to coaches and administrators. It sucks.”
While the cost-of-living increase was the primary reason for picketers to come out, Taylor said two other issues are still on the table that need to be ironed out.
One demand by the Professional Staff Union is to implement more protections for its immigrant workforce.
In response to this, Gest stated that, “UMass’ immigrant employees are a critical and valued part of our teaching and learning community; the university will continue to do everything within its legal power to ensure their rights and safety are protected.”
The Professional Staff Union is also negotiating against the university’s proposal that some employees work on snow days.
The university has proposed that only employees who already work remotely or who are scheduled to work remotely during an unplanned campus closure would be expected to complete essential work functions.
Taylor said that, “If campus closes, you know it’s a major weather event, and so it’s a reasonable ask that folks would have that day to take care of their environment, right where they’re living. Some folks have responsibilities to neighbors or family members. Kids are home, sometimes aging parents. It’s unfair to expect that they would be able to carve the time out of their day under those circumstances.”
If the university heeds these demands, Taylor said, a contract can be finalized.
“It’s time for management to move,” she said, “because our positions are not unreasonable.”