Layoffs next in fight over UMass transferring employees to private foundation

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 05-03-2023 8:30 PM

AMHERST — A planned shift of the University of Massachusetts Advancement Services’ fundraising, alumni communications and event planning to the private UMass Amherst Foundation got underway this week, despite continued opposition to the reorganization plan from staff unions, as well as elected officials in both the state Legislature and Congress who say the university’s decision is not necessary.

On Monday morning, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy sent an email to the more than 80 affected employees saying the university has no choice but to begin the transition process and, because no agreement is in place with unions, layoff notices will soon be sent to current employees.

“After an exhaustive legal review, months of meetings with your union representatives and consultation with the officials of the Massachusetts State Retirement Board, we are proceeding with a reorganization of the Advancement division, which will result in the transfer of fundraising and related functions to the UMass Amherst Foundation in order to ensure meticulous compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” Subbaswamy wrote.

This restructuring plan, which the university contends it is doing solely to meet regulatory compliance requirements that risks the past and future eligibility of its employees to participate in the state’s retirement and pension system, is for 82 UMass employees to have their positions moved to the UMass Amherst Foundation. These employees would automatically be offered the positions without any application process required.

Unions, though, have continued to reject the premise that such a change is necessary to be in compliance with state law, and that an agreement it signed nearly three years ago remains in effect.

“We are deeply disappointed to see this letter from the chancellor today,” said Andrew Gorry, who co-chairs the Professional Staff Union. “There are no compliance issues and the university is still bound by the 2020 agreement with Advancement.”

“It’s not too late for them to stop,” said Brad Turner, who also co-chairs the Professional Staff Union.

Layoff notices would come after a 15-day consultation period.

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The unions held a rally last Friday, coinciding with Founders Day on campus, opposing the plan to eliminate what they say are 124 state jobs and strip affected employees of union protections, cutting off their access to state benefits and jeopardizing their retirement funds.

The unions have also noted that what they view as union-busting tactics come as Advancement Services staff have led the campus to record-breaking fundraising success, including surpassing the goals of the university’s last $300 million capital campaign, hosting alumni and donor engagement events, publishing UMass Magazine and soliciting scholarship donations. Under the university’s plan, this work would be performed with no transparency or state oversight.

Joined by state Rep. Mindy Domb and state Sen. Jo Comerford, whose districts encompass the UMass campus, members of the unions spoke Friday against what the university is doing. Also present were staff members from the office of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Northampton’s Expandable Brass Band.

The Professional Staff Union and the University Staff Association previously held a Save Our Staff rally and speak-out in March, with employees expressing concern for their livelihoods.

Warren and fellow Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward Markey issued a joint statement supporting the unions: “We stand with union workers at UMass Amherst fighting against the privatization of public sector jobs, which would put employees’ retirement benefits and job security at risk. We urge UMass to come together with its workers on a solution that protects good, union jobs in our public education system.”

Comerford and Domb also wrote in a statement that they don’t believe “the UMass plan to restructure is needed,” and urged the UMass administration to “reexamine options with two priority objectives: 1) to secure the retirements of these public employees, and 2) to achieve a resolution that addresses any issues that UMass Amherst may face without forcing its employees to bear the cost with their retirements or their careers.”

Turner said the university leaders should be listening to local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern.

“They have researched the facts and reached their own conclusion,” Turner said, adding that people exposed to both sides of the argument understand that privatization is what the university is pushing.

But the university has developed what it is calling a compliance plan that it says will protect employees’ past and future retirement contributions, ensuring that they are credited with the service they have done, and to help maintain their career paths, with the majority becoming part of the UMass Amherst Foundation to continue the university’s mission of philanthropic outreach.

Subbaswamy wrote that without an agreement with the unions, layoffs are the only alternative.

“As a result, we have no choice but to issue layoff notices to such bargaining unit employees whose university positions are being eliminated and who have opted not to transfer to the UMass Amherst Foundation, which will assume full responsibility for Advancement functions. Each impacted employee will receive a personalized layoff notice in mid-May which will detail the specific options available to them under their collective bargaining agreement.”

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