About 100 SHARE members participated in the action protesting UMass’ intention to deduct payroll taxes from all employees for the Paid Family Medical Leave. Not a bad response for a quick action! Thank you to all who participated.

Negotiations about this issue are continuing. Unfortunately, UMass is still moving forward with their plan to impose the tax in the October 4 paycheck.

Rejected by UMass Unions United

SHARE members, and employees in other unions from all campuses of the University system, responded to the University’s request for acknowledgement of the official PFML notice by sending protest emails and printed forms saying, “Rejected by UMass Unions United”.

Other Employers

Although employers are legally allowed to pass on roughly half the tax, some State employers are choosing to step up and pay the whole tax, including the Legislature, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Sheriffs.

Ongoing Negotiations

The coalition of UMass unions has had two more negotiating sessions since the acknowledgement forms went out. We are continuing to argue that UMass should pay the whole tax rather than passing off part of it to their employees. We are disappointed that the University is going ahead with the tax at this time, but we will continue to bargain.