Author: Mass Union

  • Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to honor Sarah Byrnes with Gladys Vega Outstanding Community Leader Award at 2026 Catalyst for Change Event

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Media Contact:
    press@mlri.org

    BOSTON, MA (July 14, 2026) — The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is pleased
    to honor Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing
    Tenants (Mass Union), with this year’s Gladys Vega Outstanding Community Leader Award
    on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. This distinguished award recognizes exceptional leaders
    who champion the rights and dignity of their communities across Massachusetts.
    Byrnes stepped into the role of Executive Director of Mass Union in 2023, and is at the helm
    during one of the most consequential moments for public housing residents in recent
    history. Across the country, federal actions by the Trump Administration have targeted
    vulnerable and marginalized communities in public housing – but the threat extends far
    beyond any one group, putting at risk the stability, rights, and futures of all public housing
    residents.


    At Mass Union – a statewide organization run by tenants for tenants – Byrnes is on the
    frontlines of this fight. Since joining Mass Union, she has expanded the organization’s reach
    and visibility, adding new programs, partnerships, and key events like an annual Public
    Housing Day at the State House. Byrnes considers herself first and foremost an organizer,
    and tenant leadership development is at the heart of Mass Union’s work.

    “Sarah brings both the leadership and perseverance that this moment demands,” says
    Georgia Katsoulomitis, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. “At a
    time when public housing funding is at risk and residents are under serious threat of losing
    housing, she is exactly the kind of leader we need. She has been in the trenches with
    residents, cultivating and fostering strong tenant leaders, and is relentless in fighting for the
    human right to housing and for the rights of families in public housing.”

    “This award belongs to every tenant leader who has contributed to their Local Tenant
    Organization, stood up for public housing at the State House, or refused to let their
    community be pushed aside,” said Byrnes. “Public housing residents are facing
    unprecedented threats right now, and I’m honored to be part of an organization built on the
    belief that the people most affected by these policies are also the ones best equipped to
    fight them.”

    This year’s Catalyst for Change event will be held on September 15, 2026 at the UMass Club
    in Boston. The evening brings together legal advocates, community leaders, private bar
    attorneys, and supporters committed to advancing economic and social justice across the
    Commonwealth.

    About the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

    Founded in 1968, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a nonprofit poverty law and
    policy program that provides statewide advocacy and leadership in advancing laws,
    policies, and practices that secure economic, racial, and social justice for low-income
    people and communities. To learn more, visit MLRI.org.

  • Paying for the Convention

    Prices

    Mass Union does everything we can to keep prices as low as possible, including by soliciting sponsors. These costs reflect the minimum to cover expenses. Thank you for your understanding!

    Daytime Attendance: $230

    Covers the following:

    • Breakfast and lunch on Friday
    • Breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday
    • Breakfast on Sunday
    • Attendance at any and all workshops and plenaries on all three days
    • Convention materials

    Hotel Rooms: $185/night

    If you are sharing a hotel room, you will be responsible for half of this cost per night – $92.50. Hotel rooms are available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights (October 1 – 3).

    Paying for the Convention

    1. Use Tenant Participation Funds from the Local Tenant Organization

    Local Tenant Organizations receive Tenant Participation Funds from the Housing Authority to support their operations and support tenant leadership development. Your LTO can include funds for the Mass Union Convention in your budget. Please contact your Organizer or our main office for more information.

    2. Ask your Local Housing Authority to Sponsor Your Attendance

    Convention attendance can eat up a big portion of the LTO’s annual budget, so another option is to ask your LHA to sponsor your attendance! Their support will be recognized and celebrated widely. Read all about it below, and give them this Sponsorship PDF to kick off the conversation. They will join 30+ other LHAs who have provided sponsorships in the past.

  • Mass Union Fall 2026 Convention and Annual Meeting

    October 2 – 4, 2026
    Best Western Marlborough MA

    Join us for two and a half days of programming, including keynotes, workshops, updates, our Officer Election, and Mass Union’s first-ever LHA of the Year Award!

    REGISTER HERE
    PAYING FOR THE CONVENTION
    OFFICER ELECTION | “LHA OF THE YEAR” AWARD

    Spanish Interpretation will be Provided | Se dara interpretacion al español
    Spanish Packet coming soon | Documentacion en español disponible pronto 

    Featured Speaker

    Congressman Jake Auchincloss, by recorded video

    Agenda Summary

    Friday, October 2: Registration and breakfast open at 8:00am. Programming begins at 10:00am and wraps up at 4:00pm. Breakfast and lunch provided.

    Saturday, October 3: Registration and breakfast open at 8:00am. Programming begins at 9:30am and wraps up at 4:00pm. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided. Dinner will include a DJ and cash bar! Bring your dancing shoes. 😊

    Sunday, October 4: Breakfast and registration open at 8:00am. Mass Union’s official Annual Meeting and Officer Election will run from 10am – 12pm. Breakfast provided.

    Hotel rooms are available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

    Spanish interpretation will be provided throughout the event, and there will be a Mesa Redonda (Roundtable) during lunch on Friday so folks can meet and greet other Spanish speakers. 

    Tentative Workshop Topics

    Negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with your LHA | Updates from the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities (EOHLC) | Radical Inclusion: Race, Class and Belonging | Know Your Housing Rights with Legal Aid | Rent Control and Housing Justice | Immigrant Rights in Public Housing and Beyond | LTO Fundraising | LTO Board Basics | Storytelling | Improving your LTO’s Impact

    Transportation

    Buses may be leaving from the Boston area. All tenants should contact us or your Organizer or our main office with questions or help with transportation.

    Thank you to our Sponsors!

    Learn about Sponsorship! For LHAs (PDF) | For Other Sponsors (PDF)

    Platinum Sponsor

    Silver Sponsors

    Bronze Sponsors

  • Officer Election, Fall 2026

    On October 4, 2026 at our Annual Meeting in Marlborough, Mass Union affiliates will choose officers to serve on the board of Mass Union.

    Bylaws Article VII, Section 1

    Election of Officers: At the Annual Meetings held in even-numbered years, the affiliates shall meet and elect a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, and an Assistant Treasurer and any other officer who will be deemed appropriate. Each officer shall be a member of the Board.

    Read our bylaws

    Process

    Affiliates are invited to nominate current members of the board for Officer seats (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Treasurer). Note that only current board members can be nominated, including current officers. Please see a list of current board members here.

    • Nominations must be submitted by September 1, 2026 at 5pm.
    • Nominations can only be made by members of our affiliates.
    • To nominate someone, please email the following to info@massunion.org:
      • Your name and your affiliate’s name (i.e., the name of your Tenant Organization)
      • The person you are nominating
      • The office you are nominating them for (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, or Assistant Treasurer)

    After September 1, the staff will confirm whether the nominated persons wish to run for the seat. The board will ratify the list of nominees at its September meeting, per our bylaws. Candidate information will be distributed to affiliates as soon as possible, and voting will occur per the process in our bylaws on October 4, 2026. Additional voting procedures will be announced in coming months. Please contact us with any questions. Thank you!

  • Mass Union To Give its First-Ever “Housing Authority of the Year” Award

    At its Fall 2026 Convention, Mass Union will choose one Housing Authority to honor with its first-ever Housing Authority of the Year award.

    “We are thrilled to present this honor for the first time,” said Dave Underhill, Mass Union’s Board Chair. “There are many excellent Housing Authorities in Massachusetts. Tenants are eager to show our appreciation for the LHAs who provide sound management, encourage and value tenant participation, and respect all tenants at all times. We invite Mass Union affiliates to nominate their Housing Authority for this award, and we look forward to selecting the winner!”

    Nomination Process

    Mass Union affiliates are invited to nominate their LHA or another LHA for this award by emailing info@massunion.org by 5pm on August 14, 2026. Please note that the nomination must be made by the affiliate as a whole, not by an individual tenant.

    Before submitting your nomination, please read the criteria below. In your email, please “make the case” for why this LHA should win. You can:

    • Share your positive experiences with the LHA, 
    • Include data from the LHA’s Performance Management Review or Tenant Satisfaction Survey (see data for state housing here),
    • Provide other information.

    Criteria

    I. RESPECTFUL

    The LHA is consistently respectful toward all tenants, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, language, or any other characteristic. The LHA “treats tenants as human” and shows compassion. Provides robust language access for all tenants.

    II. VALUES TENANT INPUT and LOCAL TENANT ORGANIZATIONS

    • Sees tenants as partners who hold crucial real-world experience that can inform Housing Authority decisions
    • Listens to tenant input and incorporates tenant suggestions in policies, procedures, hiring decisions, and Annual Plans
    • Encourages and supports the formation of Local Tenant Organizations
    • Respects the integrity of the Local Tenant Organization; i.e. its election results, decisions, and privacy
    • Meets with Local Tenant Organizations regularly
    • Negotiates a Memorandum of Understanding with the Local Tenant Organization
    • Provides Tenant Participation Funds promptly, per regulations
    • Allows tenants a meaningful voice at LHA Board Meetings
    • Supports Mass Union’s Convention, Public Housing Day, or other events

    III. PROVIDES SOUND MANAGEMENT

    Tenants understand that LHAs have been underfunded for decades. We wish to recognize the LHAs who provide the best possible stewardship of their assets and income. Tenants pay rent and deserve to live in dignified housing. For example:

    • The LHA is accessible and responsive to tenants, including those who do not speak English, providing office hours and responding to inquires in a timely manner.
    • Responds to work orders in a timely manner.
    • Provides safe, clean housing without rodents, bugs, or mold. Does not allow trash to pile up.
    • Provides accurate rent calculations and respectfully responds to all questions regarding the calculation. Provides a transparent process.
    • Is transparent with all finances and has a clean financial record.
    • Has been recognized by third parties for providing sound management.
    • Receives positive findings in its Performance Management Review and Tenant Satisfaction Survey(s).
    • Demonstrates effort to meet these criteria, and is moving in the right direction.

    Selection Committee

    The Selection Committee will be comprised of Mass Union board members, affiliates, staff and partners.

    If you are a member of one of our affiliates and would like to join the committee, please email info@massunion.org by Monday, July 27 at 12pm. The Mass Union board will determine the members of the committee at its 1pm meeting that day. Please note:

    • If your LHA is nominated for the award, you cannot serve on the committee.
    • The committee will meet over Zoom during the week of August 17 to make its decision. You must be available for one or more meetings that week.
  • Massachusetts Public Housing Night with the Brockton Rox

    Massachusetts Public Housing Night with the Brockton Rox

    Mass Union is thrilled to be partnering with the Brockton Rox, a a professional independent baseball team based in Brockton!

    Saturday, August 8 will be Public Housing Night at the Rox game. Tenants, friends, families, and kids are all encouraged to attend. Tickets cost $22.10 per person and include a Rox hat, and a portion of the ticket price will be donated to Mass Union. It promises to be a great time and benefits a great cause. Win-win!

    Get tickets.

  • Action Alert: Speak Out for Rent Stabilization & Access to Counsel

    Two critical issues for renters are currently being considered by the State Legislature. We need you to reach out to your legislators today to urge them to prioritize the needs of struggling renters.

    Rent Stabilization

    While public housing tenants are fortunate to have controlled rents, tenants in the private market are not so lucky. We all have friends and family in the private market, where we know that rents can double overnight. Activists across Massachusetts have been working tirelessly to put rent stabilization (also called rent control) on the ballot in November. But the State Legislature can implement this popular protection for renters now. They have until July 1 to do so, so we need your help now!

    Access to Counsel

    Access to Counsel ensures that tenants facing eviction have the legal representation they need. Public housing tenants know all too well how important this is, and Mass Union has long been a supporter of this crucial protection. The FY27 state budget is now before key decision-makers in the State Legislature. Access to Counsel is included in the House Budget for $3 million, but not in the Senate Budget. We need to tell our legislators to provide the full $3 million to this program so tenants can have a fighting change in eviction proceedings.

    Take Action

    1. Find your Representative and Senator: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator
    2. Call your legislators and ask them to support rent stabilization and access to counsel. You can use the script below, but make sure to include any insights or stories of your own!
      • My name is ____ and I live at ___[street address]___ in __ [city or town]__.
      • I am calling today to voice my support for both rent stabilization and full funding for access to counsel. I urge you to prioritize the needs of struggling renters by taking action on these issues.
      • I support common sense rent stabilization and urge the legislature to take action before July 1 to pass a compromise. I support rent stabilization because ____________.
      • As a tenant, I’ve also seen how the state’s investment in Access to Counsel in evictions is making a difference in people’s lives. [Add a story of your own, if relevant.] Please stop unnecessary evictions and the harmful effects that evictions are causing people in our communities. Please adopt the Access to Counsel House Line Item 0321-1800 for $3 million.
    3. Email your legislators and ask them to support rent stabilization and access to counsel. You can use the sample email below, but make sure to include any insights or stories of your own!
      • Subject line: Urgent Action Needed on Rent Stabilization and Access to Counsel
      • Dear Representative / Senator _____________,
      • My name is ____ and I live at ___[street address]___ in __ [city or town]__.
      • I am writing to voice my support for rent stabilization and access to counsel, which will both provide important protection for renters in our community. 
      • We are in a severe housing affordability crisis. Skyrocketing rent increases are making it impossible for families, young people, and older adults to remain in their communities and plan for their futures. Without predictable rents, tenants struggle to maintain stability, children are displaced from schools, and our communities lose the diversity that makes them strong. We need your leadership to keep rent increases stable and protect vulnerable tenants from displacement. 
      • I support rent stabilization because ____[add your personal experience here]________. I urge the legislature to take action before July 1 to pass a compromise on rent stabilization. 
      • As a tenant, I’ve also seen how the state’s investment in Access to Counsel in evictions is making a difference in people’s lives. [Add a story of your own, if relevant.] Please stop unnecessary evictions and harmful effects that evictions are causing people in our communities and adopt the Access to Counsel House Line Item 0321-1800 for $3 million.
      • Sincerely, [your name]
    4. Send a letter directly to the FY27 Budget Conference Committee and Leadership urging them to include $3 Million for the Access to Counsel line item (0321-1800) as provided by the House. Use these emails. You can use the sample paragraph below, but make sure to include any insights or stories of your own!
      • We ask the Conference Committee to adopt the Access to Counsel in Evictions House Line Item 0321-1800 which provides $3 million for the continued start-up of a statewide Access to Counsel in evictions program. The state’s investment in Access to Counsel in evictions is without question making a difference in people’s lives. In 2025, the Access to Counsel program opened 1,192 cases, and in 87% of the cases closed tenants stayed housed or received time to find new housing. Stop unnecessary evictions and the cascade of harmful effects that evictions are causing people in our communities – adopt the Access to Counsel House Line Item 0321-1800 for $3 million.

  • Trump Administration Attacks LGBTQ+ Tenants and Families

    On April 28, 2026, the Trump Administration released yet another proposal that would harm public housing communities. This time, they are attacking our LGBTQ+ neighbors. The proposal rolls back previous HUD rules that protect LGBTQ+ families and individuals from discrimination in HUD-subsidized housing and shelter, including federal public housing. If put into effect, this could allow landlords to refuse to provide housing to LGBTQ+ families and individuals, or even evict a family after learning that a family member is transgender or gay.

    The Mass Union board strongly opposes this proposal. Our value of “Radical Inclusion” applies to individuals with different gender identities and sexual orientations. All people should be welcome in public housing. We will be discussing this further on June 12, 2026, at 11am over Zoom. We will gather comments from tenants to submit to HUD showing our opposition to this cruel proposal. All public housing tenants are welcome! Email info@massunion.org to get the Zoom link.

    Read a full legal analysis from the National Housing Law Project here.

  • Rent Control Fact Sheet

    Click here (PDF)!

  • Webinar Series: Negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Local Housing Authority

    Join Mass Union, Legal Aid, and trainer Todd Fry for a two-part webinar series about negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with your Local Housing Authority. 

    Public housing tenant organizations in Massachusetts have a right to organize, be heard, and participate in matters affecting tenants. These rights can be made much stronger if a tenant organization sits down with housing authority staff and negotiates an agreement called a Memorandum of Understanding (or MOU) or a Memorandum of Agreement (or MOA).

    MOUs can be powerful tools for tenant groups. They can open up better communications between tenants and housing authorities. They can provide access to resources to help strengthen tenant organizations. And, most importantly, they can provide tenant groups with a place at the table to work with the housing authority on issues of concern.

    For more information, checkout the updated Memorandum of Understanding Know Your Rights Booklet!

    Session 1: Know Your MOU Rights – with Legal Aid
    June 16, 2026, 10:30am – 11:30am

    Session 1 took place on June 16 and featured two legal experts — Annette Duke from Mass Law Reform Institute, and Susan Hegel from Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services, as well as Rey Santana, President of the Mystic Tenants Association. Annette, Susan and Rey explained what an MOU usually covers, your rights to negotiate, what recourse you have if a housing authority refuses to negotiate, and highlights from a sample MOU.

    Session 2: Negotiation Skills with Todd Fry
    July 9, 2026, 11am – 1pm

    Now that you know the regulations about what your MOU can cover, learn ways to negotiate a strong agreement with your LHA. In an interactive style, we will walk through strategies, skills, and some practical tips to help you achieve the MOU that tenants in your community want.