University Staff Association

03/26/2026

USA/MTA asks for your support in protecting our students, faculty, staff, and community and demand that cut ties with ICE enablers like
Please sign this petition in the link in our bio and on our story to give your voice to this cause. Together, we can make change.

“We students, faculty, staff, and alumni at UMass-Amherst are appalled by ICE’s trampling upon the human rights of communities across our country. And we refuse to to stand by as our school continues to be bound up with this assault by doing business with corporations that are pivotal to ICE’s operations, including Enterprise, the primary provider of ICE’s vehicles.

We call on you to end all contracts and deals with Ice enabler Enterprise Rent-A-Car by May 1 2026. Our tuition money and our college should not be funding an operation that runs so counter to our core values and that directly threatens so many members of our campus community. Breaking our relationship with Enterprise (until Enterprise drops ICE) is a powerful way to join Americans across the country in refusing to condone ICE’s campaign of terror in our communities.”

03/18/2026

USA is hosting a union crafting circle! Bring your projects and handiwork for an hour of crafting and socializing! All UMass community members are welcome – not just USA members!
We had a great first gathering on the 9th and are meeting again next week! We hope to establish this crafting group as a reoccurring event. See you there!

Tuesday March 24th, 12-1pm @ W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Room 1920 (19th Floor)

03/12/2026

It's time to vote, USA! 🗳️ Stewards, Treasurer, MTA Annual Meeting delegates, and NEA Representative Assembly delegates are on the ballot this year. Candidate statements are posted on the USA website and the ballot.

Dues-paying USA members received an email containing a personal voting link and password from [email protected] on March 9th. If you do not see your ballot in your inbox or spam folder, please contact the USA Office at [email protected]!

If you are a non-dues paying member or are unsure of your membership status, please learn more about joining USA on our website and contact Membership Coordinator Antonia Lynch.

03/05/2026

Check out USA member and Du Bois Center Graduate Fellow Wilton Schereka's lecture "Sound, Spirit, Struggle: Du Bois and South Africa" this Tuesday, March 10th from noon-1pm at the W. E. B. Du Bois Center, Floor 22 (room 2220), W. E. B. Du Bois Library, UMass Amherst. Registration required: https://libcal.library.umass.edu/event/16245877

Next Tuesday! A special Du Bois Center Graduate Fellow Lecture by Wilton Schereka, "Sound, Spirit, Struggle: Du Bois and South Africa." March 10, noon-1 p.m., Du Bois Library, Du Bois Center.
Free; registration required: https://libcal.library.umass.edu/event/16245877

02/27/2026

Fair wages and full staffing for Amherst DPW! RSVP to the rally here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/rally-with-amherst-dpw-workers

While we may have won our contract, the broader struggle for fair pay and safe working conditions continues in our community—and now the union representing employees of Amherst’s Department of Works, the ADPWA, needs our help. ADPWA members have been negotiating for over a year and are now seven months past the expiration of their contract (sound familiar?).

Here are all the details:

Rally with Amherst DPW workers!

The Amherst DPW Associations (ADPWA), a union representing roughly 60 Amherst DPW workers, will be conducting a rally outside of Town Hall ahead of the special meeting on the Town Common on 3/2/26 at 6:00 PM.

Amherst Town Council has called the special meeting for Monday, March 2, 2026 at 7:00PM in town hall. The meeting will address issues in DPW, including the fact that ADPWU workers have been working with an expired contract for over seven months, with over a year of ongoing negotiations without a fair contract.

The issues facing the DPW include low wages, with many being below a livable wage. Other problems include: high rates of turnover, low retention rates, and frequent understaffing. Negotiating a fair contract will be beneficial for the town and its residents, resulting in improved retention and service delivery.

Labor family: it’s time to show up for Amherst DPW workers! They keep our streets safe and our communities running—they deserve fair pay and a good contract! Come tell the Town of Amherst to do the right thing.

02/24/2026

Your advocacy worked! Gov. Healey has asked the Group Insurance Commission to not increase co-pays and deductibles for the health care plans used by public employees. We are canceling our rallies planned for tomorrow in Springfield and Boston. We are moving ahead with a message to the GIC about maintaining coverage for GLP-1 medications used for weight management, which is set to end. There is more work to be done, but you earned a major victory today.

02/20/2026

Join us in taking THREE actions this week to continue pressure and build momentum ahead of the next GIC meeting.

#1: Contact Your Legislator
#2: Call Governor Healey
#3: Attend an Event on February 24th in Boston or Springfield

Links in the comments below!

Take action Tuesday Feb. 24 to save our health care. Join with other public employees in Boston and Springfield as we push for state funding for the Group Insurance Commission and avoid reduced coverage and big hikes in our out-of-pocket costs. Details and sign-ups are in comments.

02/06/2026

The GIC is about to vote to weaken our health care plan… unless we stop them! Join fellow MTA members and other higher education workers for a rally/press conference on February 10 to reject these proposals with our collective voice. Let elected officials and the public know how these proposed GIC cuts will impact YOU.

Massachusetts is the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country with the wealthiest billionaires. Public-sector workers will not bear the cost of a crisis caused by a reckless federal government. You and your families deserve better!

Help send a clear message to the GIC and Governor Healey: Don’t balance the budget on the backs of public workers and their families! We have an opportunity to address health inequities in this budget and demand better health care — not worse! Refreshments will be provided.

To learn more about the cuts, please visit.

Refreshments will be provided.

Register here:

The GIC is about to vote to weaken our health care plan... unless we stop them! Join fellow MTA members and other higher education workers for a rally/press conference on February 10 to reject these proposals with our collective voice. Let elected officials and the public know how these proposed GIC...

02/04/2026

📢 Join us for the USA Power Hour at noon when the Expandable Brass Band will be playing and for the Solidarity Hour at 2pm to listen to union and student leader speeches, including USA speakers! Or swing by when you can and bring the noise! Let's show up in force for our PSU union siblings!

01/27/2026

Solidarity with PSUMTA! Sign up for a shift, wear your union gear, bring your co-workers!

Professional Staff Union (MTA) has been fighting for a contract since 2024. Join your union siblings for a practice picket Thursday, February 5th!

When: Thursday, Feb. 5th from 9 am to 5 pm (we’re asking unions and community members to sign up for a two-hour slot)
Where: Whitmore Hall, UMASS Amherst. Assembly on far side of building (from Mass. Ave) in front of the ramp.
What: A practice picket.
Who: Labor unions, rank & file workers, community allies, retiree supporters.
Learn more about PSU’s fight for a fair contract

In December, 94% of PSU members voted no confidence in UMass Chancellor Reyes.
PSU is fighting against takebacks, including replacement of guaranteed raises with arbitrary “merit-based” pay, understaffing, workload issues, and more.