August 15, 2024

Hello APA Members,

I hope your summer is going well. I apologize for the delay from my last letter, I wanted to offer some updates on our contract negotiations.

We met with Management on August 2, 2024 at Worcester State University. This was another productive meeting where we were able to present more responses to Management proposals and counter-proposals, as well as presenting proposals for long overdue language and financial changes. Details can be found on our website’s newest page, Contract Negotiations Updates. We are striving to keep this page updated, and our webmanager, from Fitchburg State University, Julie Dunlap LePoer has been doing a great service to our union with all her efforts there.

I am pleased to report that we finally received the financial parameters, and they are healthy increases and reflect efforts at the negotiating table to reinforce the need for addressing salary compression. While we still have proposals on the table that may affect the final numbers I will resist the temptation to declare the numbers because I do not want to set unrealistic expectations should they change as we try to get the best financial impact for all members. I can
say that the first raise would not go into effect until January 2025. In my discussions with other unions’ leaders, this is similar if not identical to what they are being offered.

I am confident that many of the proposals that you have asked for will be reflected in our new contract. We are finding that many of the proposals have support from management and are shared concerns. There is always some give and take with negotiations, and your negotiating team is being thoughtful about how to make compromises that will keep these negotiations moving. I have likely said this before, but it bears repeating that this negotiations team has gone above and beyond in preparing these proposals, costing out their impacts, and
finding common ground with management. Since joining the APA Executive Board in 2018, I have not seen a team more invested and collaborative in getting this contract changed to meet the needs of our membership.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to Susan McNeil, our State-wide Vice President and Chapter President for MassArt for taking the role of chief negotiator. She has taken this on in light of recent challenges in my personal life, and has kept this process moving forward far better than I could have. I remain part of the negotiating team and fulfilling my role as your president.

Please reach out to your chapter president and other union leaders if you have any questions or concerns for negotiations. They can answer any questions or relay them to me if they do not know.

In solidarity,
Seth Bean
APA President