Author: Mass Union

Notice From the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities:

We are writing to inform you that Tenant Satisfaction Surveys will be mailed to public housing tenants over the next several days. This is in compliance with Chapter 235 ‘An Act Relative to Local Housing Authorities,’ requiring the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities to conduct an annual survey of residents living in state-aided public housing. Surveys will be mailed to approximately 9,000 family and elderly households at 50 housing authorities.

If tenants have any questions or concerns about the surveys, please assure them that they are legitimate and are part of our ongoing efforts to learn their thoughts on a variety of issues related to housing authority governance, operations and physical conditions.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Feel free to reach out to Joyce Taylor with any questions or comments about the tenant satisfaction survey. You can reach her at: joyce.m.taylor@mass.gov.

On October 19, 100 resident-leaders of the Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants will gather at the Springfield Sheraton for the Fall Conference for a day of networking and learning.

The regulations remind us that “cooperative working relationships enhance housing programs and benefit both LHAs and residents.” Educated tenants are an asset to any Housing Authority! To show our appreciation for your commitment to resident education, Mass Union and MassNAHRO will recognize participating Housing Authorities in the following ways.

Contact Mass Union at info@massunion.org or 617-825-9750.

Dear affiliates,

Hello from Mass Union! At our Convention on October 19, you will have the opportunity to vote on eleven (11) proposed changes to our bylaws. This information was sent to our affiliates in the snail mail. Contact us if you have not received your packet.

These changes are offered in the spirit of streamlining and improving Mass Union’s operations so that we can do more to serve you and the thousands of tenants we have not yet reached. We estimate that fewer than 10% of tenants are represented by a tenant organization, so there is a lot of room to grow! These proposed changes are designed to give us the stability and flexibility we need for growth. Please note:

• • Voting on these amendments will occur after lunch at the Convention on October 19 in Springfield. See our website or contact us for more information about attending the Convention.
  • Voting will not include discussion.
  • If you would like to discuss the proposals before voting, please attend the bylaws workshop we will hold at the Convention before lunch. You can also contact our staff or board any time!

What are bylaws? Bylaws are a “governance” document. They state our mission and spell out who is involved in Mass Union—i.e., our affiliates, board, and staff. They also spell out who has which “powers”—i.e., who can do what. As examples, the affiliates have the power to participate in committees and elect board members. Board members have the power to adopt policies and budgets and hire the Executive Director. The Executive Director has the power to hire other staff and run the day-to-day operations of the organization. This all flows from our mission statement, which is included in the bylaws. Together, we can accomplish our mission to build power and voice for tenants.

Because it requires a lot of work to change bylaws, they should not include too much detail. They should not make “programming” decisions about how we accomplish our mission. These decisions should be made in policies and planning documents, such as a Strategic Plan.

On September 5, we held a webinar with affiliates about these proposed changes. We got great feedback and want to thank all who attended. The main feedback was to develop policies to address the areas that would be taken out of the bylaws. We heard you! And as such we wish to draw your attention to the following policies and plans, some of which are included herein.

• • Mass Union’s Proposed Mission, Vision, Values, Goals and Plans
  • Mass Union’s Internal Financial Controls Policy – The board is working on a policy to address details previously covered in the bylaws. This will be up for a vote at the September board meeting. Please join our Finance Committee meeting on October 9 at 2pm over Zoom to hear a status update. Contact us for the Zoom link. Treasurer Sonia Andujar and Assistant Treasurer Danielle Connolly warmly welcome any affiliate to attend the Finance Committee meetings.

To make things as clear as possible, we are enclosing the following documents:

1. 1. Summary of Eleven (11) Proposed Bylaws Amendments
   2. PDF “redlined” version that shows the proposed changes in color
   3. Word “clean” version that has all the proposals incorporated

Once again, please contact us with any questions. To ensure an orderly voting process at the Convention, we are striving to address your questions as soon as possible. Our office phone is 617.825.9750 or you can email info@massunion.org. Thank you for your participation in Mass Union and we hope to see you at the Convention!

Sincerely,

Dave Underhill, Chair
Don Hamilton, Vice Chair and Co-Chair, Bylaws Committee
Nicole Beckles, Board Member and Co-Chair, Bylaws Committee
Sarah Byrnes, Executive Director

More Background

Mass Union received the following guidance from our strategic consultants as part of an organizational assessment conducted last fall.