Council 93 is back on the airwaves with a radio campaign calling attention to the refusal of University of Massachusetts leaders to provide our members at U-Mass Dartmouth with a negotiated pay increase.

Members of AFSCME Local 507 signed a contract with the U-Mass President last summer and the agreement has been funded and approved by the state legislature. However, U-Mass leaders claim they can't afford to pay the increases to workers without additional money from the legislature. Meanwhile, as the radio spot indicates, U-Mass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman continues to receive her substantial salary of more than $270,000 and $44,000 in annual housing and auto allowances. Chancellor Grossman also receives an amount equal to seven percent of her salary every year for a personal retirement account - in addition to being eligible for a pension.

"Our union will not stand by as the top earners at U-Mass continue to receive generous pay and expensive perks while our members are denied a negotiated pay increase," said Council 93 Executive Director Frank Moroney. "We will continue to publicly call attention to this injustice until our members receive the pay raises they deserve and are entitled to under the contract."

AFSCME Council 93 represents more than 200 workers at U-Mass Dartmouth and an additional 5,800 workers at U-Mass Amherst; the U-Mass Medical School in Worcester; and all 24 state university, college and community college campuses. AFSCME public higher education members make up the backbone of one of the most respected public higher education systems in the world, serving in positions ranging from campus police officers to food service workers.