Basic Timeline for Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) at UMass

Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and associated wage increases for public employees at UMass Amherst are negotiated every three years, in general. 

Each bargaining unit has a CBA that sets forth represented employees' wages, hours, sick time and other terms and conditions of employment. UMass has CBAs with nearly a dozen collective bargaining units. Once in place, CBAs for each bargaining unit are administered by Central HR (staff units) and the Provost Office (faculty and graduate student unions).

Even after they are negotiated and ratified, all agreements must be approved by the University President, the state Office of Employee Relations (OER), and approved and funded by the state legislature to become valid and enforceable.

Below, find a broad overview of the process and who is involved in executing and funding different aspects of the campus CBAs. 

Note: Because GEO, RAPMU, PRO, and AFSCME-B are not funded through state appropriations, they are an exception to this process. 

Pre-Bargaining (State Level)

1. Wage Parameters Set
   The OER sets wage parameters (e.g., cost-of-living increases) that reflect what the state is willing to fund. 
    
2. Parameters Shared with UMass
   OER provides these parameters to the UMass President’s Office, which then distributes them to each campus to provide wage guidelines.

Bargaining (Campus Level)

1. Initial Planning
   Bargaining with UMass unions typically begins about six months before contract expiration, quite often before the parameters are issued. If a contract expires before a new one is executed, unit members continue to be covered by its provisions until a new contract is executed. Importantly, unionized employees are never working without a contract.
    
2. Good-Faith Negotiations
   UMass’ designated labor relations team engages in good-faith bargaining with the bargaining unit in strict accordance with Chapter 150E of the Massachusetts General Laws.
    
3. Tentative Agreement and Ratification
   Once a tentative agreement is reached, union leadership presents the agreement to its members for a ratification vote.
   • As part of the annual state budget, typically finalized in July
   • Through a supplemental budget, a separate bill used to address funding needs not met in the regular budget.

Funding (State Legislature)

1. Legislative Submission
   After ratification by the union, the CBA is submitted to the UMass President’s Office for approval and submission to the state legislature. 
   
   Under state law, bargained wage increases cannot be implemented until the legislature votes to approve the contract and allocate the necessary funding. 
    
2. Legislative Appropriation
   The legislature must vote to both approve the contract and appropriate funding for wage elements of the CBA. This can happen either:

The timing of supplemental budget submissions and approvals is outside the university’s control, even if bargaining has concluded and the CBA has been ratified, and the University has filed the contract with the State.

Execution (Campus Level)

1. CBA Implementation
   Once the contract is approved and funded, the university begins the necessary steps to enact wage changes and implement any other changes contained in the new agreement.

Funding often includes retroactive pay covering the period from the contract’s effective start date to the date the funds are received.