1/26/18
Dear Colleagues:
A lot is going on. This is the latest—please come to one of the events next week, summarized here.
► Parking fee increases: The FSU is as deeply concerned as many of you are from the university’s announcement of their plan to raise parking fee rates to $15 for students. It looks like this is what they will be proposing to the unions as well (the Administration must negotiate parking rates with the unions- they cannot unilaterally increase them for bargaining unit members).
►Health Care Benefit Changes: Thanks to your voices and outcry from across the state, the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), which governs your health care benefits, is reconsidering their decision to eliminate half of our health care carriers and will vote on whether to do this on February 1 (see Boston Globe articles on this here and here). But they are still thinking of making big changes to your health care plans. Here’s what you can do about it:
► For FSU Members Only: FSU Executive Committee elections for Spring 18 will be getting underway shortly. See here for more information.
►Budget Cuts: Call your State Senator now!
Call or email your State Senator today, asking her/him to support including funding for UMass Boston in the Senate capital bond bill by shifting some of the construction debt (caused by originally shoddy and corrupt construction during the 1970s) from UMB to the State. Click here (https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator) to find the name and contact information for your State Senator. Here is a script:
Hello, may I speak with Senator _____ (if the Senator is not available, ask to speak with his/her staff person who handles legislative issues).
My name is _____ and I live in _____. I am a constituent. I am a faculty/librarian at UMass Boston and am calling to ask the Senator to support including funding for UMass Boston in the Senate Capital Bond Bill (S.2244), by transferring debt related to UMass Boston’s infrastructure to the state. The campus is being forced to pay for mistakes made in the state’s management of the original construction of the campus decades ago, and this is now resulting in cuts to faculty and layoffs of long-term employees.
Please let Senator Spilka (Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means) know that you and your constituents support including funding for UMass Boston in the bond bill (S.2244).
The union is only as strong as members are involved. Let us know if you want to be involved in the union, serve on our membership drive, a committee, or help with any of these issues. If you have not yet joined as a full member we urge you to do so now! (contact the FSU office for membership materials).
Marlene Kim
FSU President
Professor, Economics
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