Our workers deserve available and affordable housing.

The housing market in and around Amherst has never been as competitive as it is today. Seemingly every year, UMass is admitting record numbers of undergraduate students, but the construction of new housing units has not come close to keeping up with the massive population flux in Hampshire County.

Our own analysis has determined that the population of Hampshire County has grown over five times faster than the housing market. Further, there has recently been a common phenomenon of folks from more urban areas purchasing property and moving to Western Massachusetts. The result, which is confirmed by US Census data, is that there are fewer total housing units available for students to rent now than there were in 2014. 

In August 2024, Aidan reached out to the Amherst town council to advocate for graduate workers and our rights to housing and a decent quality of life. One council member, Pam Rooney, had the following to say:

“Amherst is one of the smallest communities in the nation to host a Flagship University. We are not a population of 100,000 with spare housing. We cannot absorb 14,450 or 17,000 people. Investors know this and invest eagerly in Amherst housing, often without any improvements or maintenance. They have pushed home prices higher and higher, well above what normal households can afford. Undergrads often have support from their families and loans to handle the extortionist levels of rent charged by investors, which keeps the rent prices high. This is completely to the detriment of all students, especially grad students, AND our folks who want to work in the area. They, with their families, come nowhere near being able to pay these prices, and they move farther away to other towns to raise their families – all to Amherst’s loss.”

Local landlords and property managers understand the difficulty students have when searching for a place to live while they study, and they use it for their own profit. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development claims that the “fair market rent” for a one-bedroom apartment in Amherst is $1,205 per month. Regardless, our members have reported paying upwards of $1,600 per month to live in barely-livable spaces with minimal utilities. UMass is playing directly into this problem with its decision in 2019 to demolish graduate housing in North Village, kicking hundreds of students out of their homes, including families with children. To replace these units, they partnered with a private, for-profit land developer to build Fieldstone Artisan, an apartment complex that charges $2,147 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. Local landlords know we cannot afford that, so they are free to charge whatever they want for low quality and often unsafe housing.

UMass must choose people over profit.

To remedy the lack of affordable housing for graduate students in Hampshire County, we demand the following:

• UMass commits to partnering with not-for-profit land developers in any future residential construction plans,
• UMass immediately lowers the price of Fieldstone housing to a maximum of $1400 per person per month,
• UMass commits to working closely with GEO to discuss any upcoming construction and demolition projects and receive feedback.

We believe that these steps would have the following positive impact on graduate student experience:

• For-profit institutions will no longer be allowed to charge exorbitant rents to graduate students who cannot afford them. 
• A larger quantity of competitively-priced housing will drive down the cost of housing on and off-campus.
• Graduate employees will never again be blindsided by the notification that their home is to be demolished. 
• Graduate employees will have a say in the housing that is constructed, allowing them to expressly communicate their needs and concerns before anything is built.

Our workers deserve to live without the fear that they might have to choose between groceries and rent. These demands will become a reality if and only if our members believe in their achievability and effectiveness. When we fight, we win.