Statement of Laura S. Jensen
Associate Professor of Political Science
Vice President, Massachusetts Society of Professors
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
9 June 2005

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I’m a professor of political science at UMass Amherst, and a vice president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors. My areas of research and teaching are state and local government, and public policy and administration. Before coming to UMass, I spent ten years in elected office in Connecticut. Although technically I appear before you today wearing my union officer hat, my remarks also reflect my academic expertise and “real world” experience in public budgeting and collective bargaining. There is no doubt in my mind that the passage of HB530 will benefit higher education employees, state government, and the citizens of the Commonwealth alike.

One of the main advantages of public sector collective bargaining is that it constitutes an objective and equitable means of handling employer-employee relations. When structured properly, it allows each side to articulate and defend its interests. It avoids problems of subjectivity, patronage, and partisanship, and makes both parties openly and legally responsible for their actions. As a consequence, it works to the advantage of both public sector employees and government.

Unfortunately, collective bargaining is not well structured in Massachusetts with respect to public higher education. Instead of sending duly negotiated and executed employment contracts directly to the funding authority, as occurs with other categories of workers within the Commonwealth and with public higher education employees in other states, the Governor has unilateral power to delay or even reject contracts. This power subverts the collective bargaining process in ways that are damaging to the Commonwealth.

Mr. Kriss asserted earlier in this hearing that the passage of HB530 would harm the separation of powers doctrine in Massachusetts. I emphatically disagree. Most authorities on American law and governance recognize that we have a system of separated but shared powers, in which accountability is maintained through a system of checks and balances. In its present form, Chapter 150E provides no check on gubernatorial activity at a key point in the collective bargaining process. Chapter 150E allows the governor to act unaccountably after contracts have been formally agreed upon, overturning the product of hundreds of hours of negotiations without any input from the General Court. The mere existence of this authority imbues the bargaining process with uncertainty, pessimism, and distrust. State government may act in bad faith, and there is no accountability mechanism in place. Both statute and practice send the message loud and clear that public higher education employees are second-class citizens, despite the fact that they, too, are Massachusetts taxpayers.

The passage of Bill 530 will help to rectify this situation. It will make the collective bargaining process fairer and more accountable to all parties involved. It will also enhance predictability and efficiency, facilitating the state budget process and eradicating the serious productivity losses that result from endless bargaining and conflict. Finally, it will help to restore a measure of respect for thousands of higher education employees, whose job satisfaction lies not only in their salaries, but also in the psychic rewards of serving vital public institutions.

Improving the structure of collective bargaining is in the best interest of the Commonwealth. I urge the General Court to enact HB530.