(ALBANY, NEW YORK) – United University Professions (UUP) – America’s largest higher Education Union, is strongly supporting the Amherst Compact, a first-ever agreement by leaders of more than 50 Unions to coordinate bargaining priorities that raise the floor for Workers of all job categories across the most-densely Unionized Region of the country for Higher Education.
Higher Ed Unions from Maine to Pennsylvania are part of the Amherst Compact, which comes as UUP and three Rutgers University Unions are negotiating new contracts.
UUP’s Negotiations Team and New York State Representatives have been working on a new agreement since February.
The contract runs through July 1st.
The timing for the initiative is good – dozens of Higher Education Unions across nine Northeast States – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – will be negotiating new contracts over the next year.
“By standing together, Higher Education Unions can use their collective power to push for gains that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise,” UUP President Fred Kowal said. “A regional bargaining strategy can help raise the standards of employment for Unions out there negotiating new agreements. As a founding member of Higher Education Labor United, UUP believes in working together with our Union colleagues to help each other realize the best possible agreements we can negotiate for our Members.”
UUP Chief Negotiator Bret Benjamin said: “As UUP is at the bargaining table right now, it’s great to know that Higher Ed Unions across the Northeast are working in collaboration to set new standards for bargaining demands.”
The Amherst Compact was drafted in January at the Northeast Regional Bargaining Summit in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The summit was organized by Higher Education Labor United (HELU), a National Higher Ed Union Organization formed in 2021 to create and pursue a unified vision for Higher Education.
More than 225,000 Higher Ed and Allied Workers are affiliated with HELU through their Unions and organizations.
More than 50 Unions – representing Higher Ed Workers in jobs ranging from Food Service and Custodial Work to Doctors, Researchers, Academics and Professional Staff – attended the summit and voted to approve the Compact.
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