Dear Colleagues,
With a new academic year, we bring you our first issue of Nuts & Bolts, our weekly roundup of FSU news. This issue focuses on contract bargaining. Our current contract expires on June 30, 2027, which means that this fall we will soon assemble our Core Bargaining Team to negotiate our successor contract (2027-2030). We expect to begin negotiations with the Administration in early spring.
We are looking for members who are interested in joining the team. Serving on the Core Bargaining Team is important, meaningful work in which you play a pivotal role in improving the working conditions for faculty and librarians on campus. Please complete the attached application and email it to fsu@umb.edu by September 28, 5PM. CBT members typically receive a course load reduction (CLR) or stipend for each academic semester in which collective bargaining occurs, as stipulated in Article 5.6 of our contract. Furthermore, serving on the bargaining team counts as university service on your AFR/ALR.
More details about the bargaining process are below. Please reach out to us at fsu@umb.edu with any questions.
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (or “contract”) codifies all working conditions, inclusive of salaries and raises, for all faculty members and librarians at UMass Boston (except for those who hold administrative positions or are department chairs). The contract applies to everyone in the FSU bargaining unit whether they have joined the union or not, though only dues-paying union members can vote to ratify the contract. The contracts are legally binding agreements that are first negotiated by the Core Bargaining Team and the Administration and then ratified by FSU members.
Core Bargaining Team (CBT)
The Core Bargaining Team is the sole group that represents FSU and negotiates the details and language of each new contract with the Administration. The constitution of the team should allow for proper representation of tenure stream and non-tenure track faculty members, including librarians. CBT members attend bargaining sessions and must be available to meet as a team between bargaining sessions.
Bargaining Priorities
The FSU will conduct a member survey prior to the start of bargaining to help us determine our priorities and proposals. In addition to the survey, FSU maintains a running list of issues with and questions about contract language that require clarification. We also conduct meetings with constituent groups to learn about what is important to them that we could work on through the bargaining process.
The Bargaining Process
The CBT and the Administration’s bargaining team meet regularly throughout the duration of the bargaining process. During each session, the teams present proposals and discussion ensues. Counterproposals are often made, usually at the next session. Although we expect to begin contract negotiations in spring 2027, the process usually takes about a year until we have a contract ratified, although it varies. Typical bargaining sessions last 2 hours and are usually scheduled biweekly, with some exceptions.