The Cape Cod Lounge was filled with worker’s rights advocates during the All-Union Contract Action Rally on Wednesday.
Attendees filled the most of the first floor of the Student Union. Members from all campus unions, which represent nearly 6,000 workers at the University of Massachusetts, were present.
Members were rallying against potential givebacks and concessions that union workers are being asked to take in upcoming contract negotiations.
President of the University Staff Association Donna Johnson elaborated on the subject.
“They want to cap the sick leave bank. If you don’t use your sick leave, you lose it. The same thing goes with vacation time, you use it or you lose it. There are overtime issues. They want to take comp time away,” she said. “I feel it’s the law. If you work overtime you’re supposed to get paid for that. It’s those types of concessions that are hard to swallow.”
“They’re saying that we have to race to the bottom,” added the President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association Barbara Madeloni. “The discourse is that people are suffering and so we have to suffer. We have to challenge that for ourselves and for everyone in our communities.”
A major focus of the rally was on UMass President Robert Caret, and his recent statements in the contract negotiations.
According to Johnson, Caret isn’t a major player in the negotiations, but he has stepped in regardless.
“He says he’s not involved in this, but then he says in newspapers that we’re ‘acting like children,’ that we have to be ‘willing to give up things.’ When the President’s office shows us that they’re giving things up, then maybe we can.”
Johnson went on to say that unionized workers were looking for a 3 percent raise, in addition to fighting concessions on sick leave and overtime.
Upcoming events to precede negotiations include a “coffee break” style meeting on Oct. 24 and another all-union meeting with local legislators.
The rally featured posters hung on the walls with President Caret’s phone number, and audience members were encouraged to take out their cell phones during the rally and call Caret to demand change.
Countless people dialed the number during the meeting and had conversations about cutbacks and other union issues with whomever picked up on the other end.
“(Now) people can call him and let him know exactly how they feel. One of the last comments he made was that the unions need to give back,” Johnson said. “We give back at the office. My members give up time with their families because they don’t make enough money on this pay check and they have to take second jobs.”
The UMass president’s office failed to return requests for comment on the rally, but it did release a statement which said, “The University is negotiating in good faith to reach agreements that reflect the campus community’s commitment to excellence and manage our financial resources in the most effective manner possible.”
William Keve can reached at [email protected].
