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Juliana Pinelli
NEPM
Unions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst rallied for higher wages outside of the student union Thursday as part of a larger state-wide campaign demanding an increase in wages for public higher education staff.
Eve Weinbaum, a sociology professor and vice president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, says some employees are even struggling to pay for groceries.
“Some of the workers who are here today have talked about the fact that they have food insecurity. They are using the food bank or the campus food pantry to feed their families,” she said. “Housing prices are unbelievably high in this area and it’s impossible to afford even a reasonable apartment on a starting salary at UMass. And so we’re asking for that to change.”
In several speeches union members decried the increasing costs of housing, gas and food.
Tasha Thompson, is a steward for the University Staff Association, made up of 800 employees at UMass Amherst. She says there is strength in campus unions fighting together.
“It means so much together with solidarity, with this struggle we are all having,” she said. “ We are all going for the same thing and it’s a beautiful moment right now.”
The Massachusetts Teachers Association argues the state can afford to raise wages that meet Massachusetts’ high cost of living. Next month, the unions plan to take their action to the statehouse.
An official with the state’s Department of Higher Education cited Gov. Maura Healey’s “historic investments in higher education, citing a recent $10 million investment in a program dedicated to provide student wraparound services in the UMass, five campus system. The money can go towards full- and part-time student support staffing.
The statement goes on to say, ”we understand that the rising cost of living is continuing to cause financial strain for many. We are committed to continuing these discussions through the collective bargaining process.“
A spokesperson for UMass Amherst said clarified that wages are established through collective bargaining and reflect the terms mutually agreed upon by the university and the unions, adding that UMass bargains ”in good faith and honors that process and its contractual commitments.“
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