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Proposed parking fee increase and your health care benefits

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). 

  • We will most likely have an FSU meeting to update you on bargaining, inclusive of the parking fee increase proposal.  We will let you know when this is.  (A broader bargaining update will be emailed to members sometime next week.) 

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:  

  • Come to the MTA/AFL-CIO rally this Tuesday, January 30, 5 pm, at the Boston Teacher’s Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon Street (right next to the Bayside lot) to make the GIC rescind its decision and have a GIC that represents your interests and offers health care benefits that you need.  More information is here.    
  • Attend the next GIC hearing in Boston, on Monday, January 29 from 12PM-1:30PM, or contact them electronically here and let them know your thoughts on their decision-making process. Because they are examining changing the benefits dramatically in a year, let them know the kind of health care that you need and deserve.  They will also consider changes to your health care plans at their meeting on February 1, and we don’t even know what these are yet!  For other times and locations and to RSVP to speak at these hearings, see here.
  • Attend the Senate Committee on Ways & Means public hearing this Wednesday, January 31st at 11:00 am in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House regarding the GIC’s recent vote.

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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