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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!

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.

Click here (PDF)!

This week Mass Union needs to raise our voices in support of four budget amendments in the Senate.  

Today and tomorrow, please call or email your Senator and ask them to co-sponsor the following Amendments to the Senate’s version of the State Budget. 

• Amendments #24 and #38 – increase the public housing Operating Subsidy from $117 million to $120 million
• Amendment #25 –  increases funding for Resident Service Coordinators from $6.5 to $7.1 million 
• Amendment #905 – provides $3 million for funding for Access to Counsel in evictions 

Find your Senator’s contact information here. When you call or email let them know that you are a constituent. This means a lot!

Next week the Senate will debate these amendments and we will keep you posted and send you a link so you can watch the debate. 

We’ve built a lot of power together over the past few years. Now, let’s make our voices heard!

Here’s what to do – Three Simple Steps!

1. Find your State Senator here. Note that you do not need to contact your State Rep at this time.
2. Email their office and ask them to co-sponsor all three amendments above. Use subject line: Protect Public Housing Residents in Your Community. You can copy and paste the list.
3. Call the office to follow up. Ask to speak to a member of the staff. Remember, don’t be shy – their job is to hear your input!

In an impressive display of tenant power, well over 100 tenants attended Mass Union’s Public Housing Day on April 16, 2026. They came from over 40 Local Tenant Organizations and 30 Housing Authorities. Tenants spoke directly to legislators about the need for fair funding for public housing, additional Resident Services Coordinators for our communities, access to counsel for tenants facing eviction, and protection for tenants undergoing redevelopment. Tenant leaders spoke passionately about these needs, and the need to defend immigrants in our communities in light of ongoing attacks from HUD. See photos below.

We are proud to report on our legislative accomplishments:

• • Tenant advocates from Jamaica Plain successfully urged State Rep. Montaño to propose an amendment to the House budget to provide technical assistance for tenants facing redevelopment. An immediate win!
  • Tenants helped circulate “Dear Colleague” letters from Rep. Cruz and Senator Payano opposing HUD’s “mixed-status” proposal which would evict 80,000 immigrants from public housing nationwide. In the end, 15 Senators and 15 Representatives signed on, and the letters have been submitted to HUD as part of the official record. Together, tenants and legislators are taking a powerful stand to protect vulnerable members of our communities.

During our morning speaking program, we heard from State House leadership about the importance of ensuring that public housing remains a strong foundation for families and communities across the Commonwealth.

Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to “support your priorities and improve the lives of our friends and families in public housing,” while Representative Carole Fiola reminded tenants that “you have the power to break down barriers and elevate the voices of your neighbors.” Representative Tram Nguyen emphasized that “real change happens when tenants organize and speak from lived experience,” and EOHLC Undersecretary Danielle Bastarache captured the heart of the day – public housing is “not just bricks and sticks,” she said, but the places “where people have their homes, raise their children, and build community.” Undersecretary Bastarche also commented that even after fifteen years of national work with public housing tenants, she had never seen a gathering like our Public Housing Day.

Many other allies made the day possible. Virginia Benzan of the Digital Equity Alliance gave inspiring luncheon remarks as part of the Mass Broadband Institute’s Platinum Sponsorship, reinforcing the importance of tenant access to digital resources. By the end of the day tenants were able to meet with 48 legislative offices. Meetings were led by tenants, staff, board, and allies such as CHAPA, Greater Boston Legal Services, Mass Law Reform Institute, and the Housing Justice Alliance. This coalition demonstrates growing support in the movement for the preservation of public housing.

The support of our sponsors allowed this advocacy, networking, and celebration to happen. In a “tough budget year,” our presence at the State House was all the more crucial to ensure the continuation of housing subsidies for some of the most vulnerable people in the Commonwealth. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts!

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

 

 

 

 

 

Bronze Sponsors

Acton Housing Authority

Haverhill Housing Authority

 

 

 

Topsfield Housing Authority

PHOTOS

Budget Amendment Fact Sheet (PDF)

Action Alert! Please contact your State Representative and ask them to co-sponsor the following amendments to the House FY27 Budget:

• • Amendment #754, raises the public housing Operating Subsidy from $117.8 to $120 million
  • Amendment #621, provides $350,000 for technical assistance for tenants facing redevelopment
  • Amendment #1419, increases funding for Access to Counsel in evictions from $3 to $4 million
  • Amendment #1291, includes the Access to Counsel bill in the budget, ensuring a stable statewide program
  • Amendment #1365, raises funding for Resident Service Coordinators from $6.5 to $7.5 million

Here’s what to do – Three Simple Steps!

1. 1. Find your State Representative here. Note that you do not need to contact your State Senator at this time.
   2. Email their office and ask them to co-sponsor all five amendments above. Use subject line: Protect Public Housing Residents in Your Community. You can copy and paste the list, and include a link to the PDF Fact Sheet.
   3. Call the office to follow up. Ask to speak to a member of the staff. Remember, don’t be shy – their job is to hear your input!

Please let Mass Union know you reached out – contact us at info@massunion.org!

Mass Union tenant leaders Dave Underhill and Carmen Baez spoke to MassLive for their coverage of HUD’s proposed rule change targeting mixed status families.

Though HUD says the rule change would “transfer assistance from mixed status families to fully eligible households,” immigration and housing advocates say in practice, it would result in forcing families to choose between separating or leaving their homes entirely, facing the prospect of homelessness.

“The people I know, they would not say, ‘Okay, see you later, I’m going to go. Mom, kids, have a good life.’ They’re either all going to try to fight it, or they’re all going to leave to go live together somewhere,” said Dave Underhill, a public housing tenant from Fall River and board president of the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants. “And if they’re in public housing now, let’s face it, they don’t have a lot of opportunities or a lot of places to move to.”

Read the full article at MassLive.com

Click here to read our joint comment with the Mass Law Reform Institute (PDF)!

Click here!