Posts tagged Massachusetts
Fearing instability at Boston-area school, faculty ask for job protections if the school closes
May 1, 2026 // She and other faculty in low-enrollment programs are being asked to teach outside their fields because enrollment is too low to sustain courses within their areas of expertise. While education programs are facing declines at many universities, she attributes the downfall to administrative issues. She said shared governance and the institutional mission of social justice are being abandoned.
One of Oregon’s Most Powerful Unions Is Rebelling Against Democrats
April 23, 2026 // Although many donors contribute to individual candidates, OEA sends most of its legislative contributions to caucus leaders, who distribute the cash to candidates in tight races. That ensures maximum influence with leaders, who in turn decide which bills get hearings and who gets committee chairmanships. (A 2012 study by the Fordham Institute ranked OEA the second-most powerful teachers union in the country—only the Illinois teachers union ranked higher.) In addition to large and steady contributions, OEA also developed a reputation for punishing Democrats who failed to fall in line, as Sollman is now learning. One infamous example still echoes nearly two decades later.
Thousands of Harvard University graduate students go on strike
April 21, 2026 // Their demands include fair pay and raises that keep up with inflation, protections for non-citizen workers, and external processes with third-party arbitration for cases of harassment, discrimination, and abuse in the workplace. HGSU is made up of 4,000 workers.
Massachusetts House Democrats Kill Bill That Would’ve Let Legislative Staffers Unionize
April 6, 2026 // BARRING A SUDDEN REVERSAL by their ostensibly pro-labor bosses, the Massachusetts legislative staffers who have long fought to form a union will once again need to wait ‘til next year. House Democrats have quietly smothered legislation that would have given aides in both chambers a clear legal right to organize and collectively bargain. A similar bill is technically still alive in the Senate, but given that top lawmakers there have already voiced concerns about the legal framework for a staff union, the prospects appear dim.
Commentary: California on the Cusp
April 2, 2026 // The top three Democratic gubernatorial candidates enjoy strong backing from organized labor, including the state’s all-powerful public-employee unions. If elected, it’s nearly certain they’ll follow the union playbook of more taxes and regulations for the next four or even eight years.
Opinion: Unions are on a comeback. Americans are paying the price.
April 2, 2026 // So far, the union comeback has mostly been confined to courthouses and state legislatures. Membership hardly budged last year, rising from 9.9 percent of U.S. workers in 2024 to 10 percent in 2025. Yet if more states continue to mandate collective bargaining for public-sector workers — or decide to repeal right-to-work statutes for the private sector — rates can be expected to rise in those jurisdictions. If workers at a unionized shop are forced to pay dues regardless of their membership status, more will opt in as the financial incentive to remain unorganized slips away.
As Michigan’s childcare costs rise, workers debate risks of unionizing
March 31, 2026 // Instead of childcare workers unionizing against owners, the model most commonly seen in childcare unions across the country is owners unionizing against their state, as Henderson is advocating for — specifically, childcare owners who receive state reimbursement payments for care they provide low-income families and therefore can be considered state employees. The purpose is to get more robust and permanent public dollars through contract negotiation to fund things providers say they can’t currently afford because of limits on their revenue, like higher wages, insurance benefits, and overall more stability for the struggling industry. Critics of this model say childcare providers shouldn't be considered public employees just because they receive payments from the state or put in a position where they may feel they have to pay union dues. They also say the fractured layout of the industry doesn't lend itself well to unionization and could create division among already under-resourced owners and staff.
Illinois ride-share union bill pushed through amid disagreement on new fee
March 30, 2026 // House Bill 4743 would allow the more than 100,000 contract employees of ride-share services – such as Uber and Lyft – in the state to organize, requiring a minimum of 10% of active drivers to begin the process. The bill also sets a threshold of 30% of active drivers signing union authorization cards to begin any negotiations with the ride-share industry. The bill would also add a new 20 cent fee to each ride conducted in the state, something the Illinois Labor Relations Board opposes. Kimberly Stevens from the Board said the fee creates a conflict of interest for her organization.
Teamsters terminate agreement, strike at Smurfit Westrock site set for closure
March 26, 2026 // The company says the union terminated the two parties’ labor agreement at the Wakefield, Massachusetts, corrugated converting plant.
Public defenders bring fight for unionization to Beacon Hill
March 18, 2026 // On Monday, those state workers pleaded their case for the right to unionize and advocate for higher pay. Workers at the organization that oversees the state public defender system, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, have been discussing unionization for years and took their concerns to the state lawmakers.