Lawmakers Hear Broad Support for Bills to Raise Wages at Public Colleges

Lawmakers heard unified testimony on April 16 urging passage of House Bill 2185 and Senate Bill 1365, measures that would raise wages for employees at Massachusetts public colleges and universities and provide funding mechanisms to cover collective bargaining increases.

Supporters told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development that low pay is undercutting recruitment and retention across the state college system and harming students’ classroom experience. Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and faculty, union and campus leaders described wide gaps between local pay and national, cost‑of‑living‑adjusted averages.

“The other part of that equation is that when we welcome in new students…we are seeing huge growth in numbers in our community colleges,” Max Page said. “We want to welcome them to the very best experience. And that means making sure we are paying our staff and our faculty fair wages.”

Union and campus witnesses cited evidence collected by the MTA: the association represents 115,000 educators overall and about 15,000 employees at public colleges and universities; an MTA‑commissioned survey of its members drew about 3,000 responses. Witnesses said community college faculty are especially low paid — the MTA testimony said community college pay is roughly 48 percent below the national, cost‑adjusted average for that sector.

Claudine Barnes, president of the Massachusetts Community College Council and a faculty member at Cape Cod Community College, told the committee many community college employees hold multiple jobs and rely on campus food banks. “We have full time faculty and staff who are utilizing our college food banks,” Barnes said. “It is unsustainable.”

College presidents joining the panel also urged action. Jim Van der Hoven, president of Mount Wachusett Community College, said free community college has raised enrollments and made the need to fund faculty and fringe benefits more pressing. “Our faculty and staff have waited months after a CBA is authorized to receive the raises that they are expecting,” he said, urging separate operating appropriations to cover collective bargaining costs.

Business groups and alumni also testified in support. JC Morales, a finance executive and UMass Amherst alumnus, said employers rely on public higher education to supply talent and warned that pay gaps harm the state’s competitiveness for graduates.

Committee members asked witnesses for underlying studies and data; Page and others said they would submit the full wage study and survey results to the committee. No formal votes were taken at the hearing.

The hearing included repeated requests that any approved raises be funded so institutions will not delay or shift costs to students; witnesses recommended dedicated operating lines to cover the incremental costs of collective bargaining agreements and state‑funded fringe benefits.

If advanced, the bills would move through the committee process in both chambers for further hearings and potential amendments.