We need you at the State House on Nov. 20th
This week’s Point was written by Helen Poynton, Professor in the School for the Environment and FSU Executive Committee member. As always, The Point represents the views of the author and is not the official position of the FSU.
Dear colleagues and fellow union members,
Today I am urging you to join me at the State House on Nov. 20th at 10 AM to support the Fair Wages Now campaign. Show your solidarity and register here now.
We saw support for higher education win during the elections last Tuesday, BUT VOTING IS NOT ENOUGH! We must put pressure on politicians and hold them accountable, and we can do that by showing up on Nov. 20th. The Fair Wages Now campaign is about providing higher education faculty and staff the wages we deserve, and yes, YOU DESERVE A 30% RAISE! And like most FSU members, I care deeply about my students, and that is what this campaign is about – because when faculty do not have to worry about finances they can focus on supporting their students. So come out on Nov. 20th, TO SUPPORT YOUR STUDENTS! You will be joining hundreds of higher education faculty and staff from across the Commonwealth in one of the largest unified actions of educators in Massachusetts for over a decade because WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!
Voting is not enough! Last week we saw historic wins across the country for education. In Massachusetts, we defeated ballot question 5 because we “chose to protect critical state funding for healthcare, education, housing, and local aid.” However, some of our members are not US citizens and could not vote in these elections. There are other ways you can be involved! And as advocates of higher education, we cannot rest after election day. Our politicians will only act on their campaign promises if we continue to put pressure on them. Last week, we re-elected Governor Maura Healey who has said, “Massachusetts residents deserve, and businesses and our economy benefit from, investments in high-quality education. . .” In MA, the governor sets the rate of our raises. Next semester we will go back into contract negotiations with UMass Boston administrators, but our salary raises will have already been decided and laid out by Governor Healey. She says that, “We lead in education and innovation because we believe in our schools and our students.” Now is the time for Governor Healey to show that she believes in higher education through her actions, by making 7% of the revenue from the Fair Share Act available to fund our raises. On Nov. 20th we will rally outside of the State House and march to Governor Healey’s office to make our demands heard. Your presence at the rally means more pressure on Governor Healey, and now is the time to demand higher raises.
You deserve a 30% raise! I have asked quite a few colleagues over the past couple weeks, “Do you want a 30% raise?” and a common response I get is a laugh. This is not a joke. Because of the extraordinarily high cost of living in Massachusetts, the pay for faculty and staff on all of our public campuses “is significantly below the national average and that of other states, when adjusted for the cost of living” (MTA report). You deserve to be paid what your counterparts in other high cost of living states are paid. In addition, most TT faculty on campus are on a 9-month appointment, with the option to pay yourself on externally funded grants over the summer. With federal cuts to grants, many of my colleagues and I are no longer able to provide ourselves with a “summer salary.” That does not mean we are taking a 3-month vacation over the summer. We deserve a 30% raise to cover the unpaid work we do every summer.
We are doing this to support our students! Several of my colleagues have told me that they cannot take time away from their students to attend the rally, whether they have scheduled classes on Friday morning or not. This campaign is about supporting our students. The financial pressures that we face distract us and make us less effective as educators and researchers. Union leaders from FSU and MTA have spoken with Labor Relations, including the Provost and Chancellor who are supportive of our campaign. They know that higher wages for their faculty mean that faculty can spend less time worrying about how to pay for childcare or rent and spend more time being there for their students or conducting ground-breaking research. During these meetings, the administration has said that on Nov. 20th, “For faculty and librarians they are allowed to take the morning off . . . [by] assigning their classwork in a way that allows them to not be teaching in person that morning.” I teach a course on Marine and Coastal Pollution. On Nov. 20th, I am encouraging the students of my 11 AM class to join me at the State House. Protecting our oceans also takes advocacy, and what better way for them to learn about civic advocacy than by seeing it in action!
We are stronger together! In this campaign, every person that shows up at the State House matters. This is not the time to say, “oh someone else will do it!” At UMass Amherst, our sister university in Western MA, close to 200 faculty and staff have already committed to getting on a bus at 7 AM to join us at the State House! For them it’s a 3-hour bus ride, for us, it’s 20 min. on the T. They are stepping up to this moment, now it is your turn! We know that people power works. We are seeing this with the students in Europe who are rising up for a better education. We have seen this throughout US history from the civil rights and environmental movements. When we organize, when we show up, we win! We have a lot to win in this campaign. If we are successful, we get a living wage that we deserve, and the Commonwealth gets committed educators and researchers that can deliver on the “high quality education” that “Massachusetts residents deserve.” Ready to show your solidarity? Register here now. (By registering you will get updates and more information on how to get to the rally including car pools, public transportation, and a free lunch.)
Where can I learn more?
Updates on the campaign can be found on the MTA’s webpage: https://www.massteacher.org/resource-library/fair-wages-now
The committee for this year’s The Point currently includes Jessica Holden, Healey Library; Nick Juravich, History; Jeff Melnick, American Studies; and Steve Striffler, Labor Studies. If you want to write an edition of The Point, or if you just have an idea, please write us at fsu@umb.edu.