We Massachusetts taxpayers and supporters of public higher education find the UMass Administration’s contract proposals to be deeply disturbing. Management representatives have proposed cut-backs and policy changes that will take our public campuses back twenty-five years.  For example:

• --weakening over-time provisions for classified staff
• --eliminating compensatory time for professional staff
• --eliminating compensation for many staff who are required to be on-call
• --limiting staff, faculty and librarians’ access to family medical leaves and to our Sick Leave Banks
• --eliminating the Salary Administration Program which provides for pay equity among professional staff
• --eliminating contract language that encourages consideration of current employees for promotional opportunities
• --reducing vacation and sick leave benefits for new employees

 These and similar proposals show a profound disrespect for employees’ skills and dedication to UMass, as well as a surprising disregard for workers’ families and lives outside of work.

 President Caret, Chancellors, and members of the Board of Trustees: We urge you to instruct your representatives to withdraw all such punitive proposals, and instead to engage constructively with union proposals advanced in the spirit of building a stronger institution better able to serve our students and our community.