AMHERST — Caroline Coley and Adam Feldman work in offices right next to each other in the Chemistry Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Aside from a shared job — managing the financial records, managing budgets of 200 grants annually and overseeing the acquisition of million-dollar equipment — they have something else in common: They cannot afford life’s simple necessities.
“I can’t have the cost of living go up while my wage stays the same,” said Feldman, noting that the cost of living is far exceeding his 1.5% raise twice a year.
“It’s just not going to be feasible for me to stay in the valley,” he said.
For Coley, healthcare costs alone are straining her wallet. She lives in a house her parents own, rented at a super discount. And yet, she still finds it hard to make sure all her bills are paid.
“My parents give me a heavily discounted rate because I couldn’t afford to keep working here and live on my own if my parents weren’t helping me,” she said.
These were just two of hundreds of people at a “Fair Wages Now” rally at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus at lunchtime on Thursday.
The demands are a 30% wage increase over three years, a $3,000 base pay increase for employees earning under $100,000, and wages that meet the MIT Living Wage Calculator standard.
The entire spectrum of workers was represented, from professors to graduate students to dishwashers. They banded together to urge university leadership and Gov. Maura Healey to approve a pay boost.
These demands began being voiced in September. On Nov. 20, a large rally is planned at the State House.
Thursday’s rally on campus is one of many that will take place over the next week across the state’s public universities and community colleges. There are thousands more employees throughout the state.
There are at least 8,000 union workers at UMass, according to Eve Weinbaum, a UMass professor and vice president of the Faculty Union.
Coley and Feldman shared how their peers are also struggling. They have colleagues who have $20 a week to spend on groceries after paying their rent of $1,800 in Amherst. Some of them will ask to work remotely just to save on gas.
“I end up feeling bad because at least I have my parents to help me,” Coley said.
A notice was sent to UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes asking him to be present, but he did not attend. He told organizers that he was in Washington, D.C., advocating for student success and thanked organizers for the invitation.
“Wages are established through collective bargaining and reflect the terms mutually agreed upon by the university and the unions,” said UMass spokesperson Emily Gest in a statement. “UMass honors that process and its contractual commitments.”
As rallygoers gathered outside the Student Union, they shouted, “Who’s gonna save us? We are!” before taking a lap around the DuBois Library on campus, carrying signs. The expandable Brass Band played “Down by the Riverside” during the walk.
Organizers said funds generated from the state’s Fair Share Amendment, a tax on millionaires, should be funneled to university and community college employees throughout the state.
“It’s the same story that’s been told for the last several years,” said Kyle Chambers, University Staff Association vice president.
“People are struggling with food security, housing security. People are making the conscious decision to not have children because child care is too expensive. People are holding off on getting necessary medical treatment and surgeries because they can’t afford them,” he said.
Some of the area’s state legislators voiced their support.
State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, attended the rally. She said the demands of the workers are part of a “three-legged stool.” The legs include financial aid for equitable access to education, capital for infrastructure, and fair wages for employees.
“Faculty and staff wages are an enormous issue to tackle,” she said.
State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, sent along a statement that was read aloud.
“When wages fall behind, people leave,” she stated.
