University Staff Association

10/09/2026

Public Higher Ed Workers Unified in Fight for Better Pay By: Scott McLennan Published: October 7, 2026 Share With faculty and staff at community colleges, state universities and UMass citing the need for second and third jobs, struggles to pay bills, and reliance on food banks all because of low wa...

10/02/2026

USA has voted to endorse the statewide higher ed Fair Wages Now! campaign! In a little over 24 hours, 50% of dues-paying USA members cast their vote with a resounding YES! This is an overwhelming level of engagement: you attended the endorsement meeting, you reached out to your coworkers and shared your knowledge of the campaign. This is how collective power is built - and it’s a strong start to our shared demand of Fair Wages Now! Mark your calendars for October 22nd when UMass Amherst unions will come together to demand a 30% raise.

09/29/2026

Looking back to the death of Emma, a USA member and coworker at UMass Amherst, USA is teaming up with the UMass Young Socialists to bring you a forum focused on the fight against femicide and its connection to the need to build a mass working class feminist movement. We hope you'll join us on October 8th at 5:30pm EST.

The forum will feature local, national, and international speakers with union and activist backgrounds. This will include Mandi, an organizer and activist tuning in from Brazil, Lekha, a union member at Rutgers university and an experienced activist, and Kyle Chambers, USA's Vice President and an experienced organizer. There will be a physical watch party in Machmer E-33 for those on the UMass campus. If you'd rather attend remotely, a zoom link will be sent to USA members via email as we get closer to the event.

09/10/2026

USA and our campus union comrades decided to crash the new CICS building ribbon cutting party to demand decision makers attending the celebration to cease and desist the implementation of Kronos timekeeping and location tracking software in violation of our contract.

It was great to see fellow party goers Chancellor Javier Reyes, Andy Mangels, Kevin Kerwood, Jeff Hescock, Susan Wheldon, and other decision makers there, but unfortunately, none of them accepted our petition with over 900 employee signatures. We guess we'll have to try again at the next big campus event, until UMass admin stop breaking our contract and start respecting their workers!

Happy first week of classes, USA troublemakers!

08/27/2026

Last week, the University Staff Association was joined by over 120 members of the UMass community in support of our action against UMass management’s violation of our contracts by implementing the Kronos surveillance software. By taking our voices to Lunch on the Lawn, we told this campus the truth about UMass management’s treatment of their workers.
We will win with our strength and solidarity. We win when we join hands with our fellow unions. We win when the UMass community hears our cries and cheers us on. We win when we remind UMass that the people make this university great, not the Ultimate Kronos Group.

08/27/2026

Join USA and the Western Mass Area Labor Federation at the Western Mass Labor Day Cookout! RSVP here: https://wmalf.org/labor-day-2026/

We're just a couple weeks away from the WMALF Labor Day Cookout and we need your help 📣 We're asking you to get your ticket by Wednesday, August 26th to help us decide how much food to order for the event. We'll cover your cost of parking and make sure there is plenty of free food on September 6th!

Get your ticket now: https://western-mass-area-labor-federation.solidarity.tech/labor-day-cookout

Miss the deadline? No problem! We still want to have you there. Get a ticket using the link above.

08/20/2026

USA is demanding UMass decision makers Brian Harrington, Andy Mengel, Sheri Nesheim, the Board of Trustees, and Chancellor Javier Reyes to cease and desist their implementation of Kronos timekeeping software in violation of the USA contract. Over 900 employees on campus have signed our petition. Listen to your workers!

08/18/2026

USA and our allies will continue to show up until UMass administration ceases and desist their implementation of Kronos, a timekeeping and location tracking software, in violation of the USA contract!

07/26/2026

WHAT HAS USA BEEN READING THIS SUMMER?

The University Staff Association has cultivated this list of labor rights books available at UMass Amherst W. E. B. DuBois Library. Utilize the QR code to find these books on Libby or visit the library in person!

Beaten Down, Worked up – Steven Greenhouse

The Great Divide – Christina Henríquez

A History of Burning – Janika Oza

The Utopia of Rules – David Graeber

Undocumented – Duncan Tonatiuh

Appalachian Fall – Jeff Young

Poor Workers’ Unions – Vanessa Tait

Fight Like Hell – Kim Kelly

The Last Human Job – Allison Pugh

Household Workers Unite – Premilla Nadasen

Get On the Job and Organize – Jaz Brisack



Beaten Down, Worked up – Steven Greenhouse:

This is a stirring and essential look at labor in America, poised as it is between the tumultuous struggles of the past and the vital, hopeful struggles ahead.

The Great Divide – Christina Henríquez

A searing and empathetic exploration of those who created history at the building of the Panama Canal - activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers.

A History of Burning – Janika Oza

This is a saga of complicity and resistance, about the stories we share, the ones that remain unspoken, and the eternal search for home during the construction of the East African Railway.

The Utopia of Rules – David Graeber

This is a study on the ways bureaucracy shapes our lives and how we respond to it from a social and historical perspective.

Undocumented – Duncan Tonatiuh

This follows Juan, a Mexican immigrant who crosses into the U.S. seeking work. Told in a Mixtec codex style, it highlights undocumented workers’ struggles, exploitation, and fight for fair treatment.

Appalachian Fall – Jeff Young

A searing, on-the-ground examination of the collapsing coal industry—and the communities left behind—in the midst of economic and environmental crisis.

Poor Workers’ Unions – Vanessa Tait

This account is an insightful documentation of poor people’s organizing and the labor movement over the last fifty years reminds us of this