1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4041 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2185
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Andres X. Vargas
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to provide fair wages to employees of public institutions of higher education.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Andres X. Vargas3rd Essex1/17/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/27/2025Vanna Howard17th Middlesex1/31/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk1/31/2025Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable1/31/2025Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex1/31/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex1/31/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/6/2025Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/12/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/12/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/12/2025Margaret R. Scarsdale1st Middlesex2/20/2025Mike Connolly26th Middlesex2/20/2025Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire2/24/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/3/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex3/3/2025David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester3/11/2025 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4041 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2185
By Representative Vargas of Haverhill, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2185) of
Andres X. Vargas and others relative to wages and benefits for employees of public institutions
of higher education. Labor and Workforce Development.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act to provide fair wages to employees of public institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 6 of said chapter 29 is hereby amended by adding the following
2paragraph:-
3 The operating budget in the current and ensuing fiscal years shall include the
4appropriation necessary to fund all incremental cost items for all years covered by any collective
5bargaining agreement to which either the board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts or
6the board of higher education is a party, separate and apart from any appropriation for the
7general maintenance of the university or public institutions of higher education where the board
8of higher education is the employer for purposes of collective bargaining under chapter 150E,
9excluding grant funded and auxiliary enterprises accounts funded positions.
10 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding section 8 of chapter 32A of the General Laws or any other
11general or special law to the contrary, the cost of fringe benefits, including, but not limited to, the
12cost of pensions and health insurance, associated with employees of a public institution of higher 2 of 2
13education as defined in section 5 of chapter 15A, shall be the obligation of the commonwealth,
14excluding grant funded and auxiliary enterprises accounts funded positions.
15 SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of section 7 of Chapter 150E, as appearing in the 2022
16Official Edition, is amended in the second paragraph by striking the third sentence and inserting
17the following the following sentence: -
18 The board of higher education and the board of trustees of the University of
19Massachusetts shall include in any such submission a certification that the incremental cost items
20in such collective bargaining agreement are adequate to ensure that average salaries for faculty
21and staff in Massachusetts will, by the end of the contract terms, for each broad job category, be
22at least at the national average, adjusted for cost of living.