Letter: Mass MoCA Strike

To the Editor:

On March 13, 2024, I had the opportunity to speak with the workers on strike at Mass MoCA. I spent several hours with them, listening to them, learning from them, and coming to understand them. The workers are on strike not because they don't love their work, but because they deserve to be paid sustainable wages. They don't just want a job but they want career opportunities, the ability to work at the museum and make enough in wages to provide for themselves and their families.

It's unacceptable for dedicated employees to struggle to make ends meet while working at an institution as prominent as Mass MoCA. Negotiating for fair compensation is a fundamental right, and it's disappointing that after five months of discussions, museum management has failed to reach an agreement that meets the needs of its workers. Anyone in our community can attest to the fact that the cost of living in Berkshire County is going up — and Mass MoCA staffers are not immune to these increases.

MASS MoCA is an important institution within our community. They are great at bringing people in to visit our city and they recently secured a grant to become a better economic partner with the city of North Adams. I am grateful for their presence and what they have done to help our city grow. Mass MoCA,is also a non-profit organization that enjoys tax benefits not available to commercial businesses, many of which still provide a higher wage to their workers.

If Mass MoCA truly supports economic development in our city and our community then there is no valid excuse for Mass MoCA failing to invest in its most valuable asset — the people who make it great. I stand in solidarity with the workers of Mass MoCA and urge the management to prioritize their well-being by reaching a fair agreement as soon as possible.

Ashley M. Shade
North Adams, Mass.

North Adams Holds Groundbreaking for New $65M Greylock School

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
06:25PM / Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Connie Tatro, a School Building Committee member, and her daycare charges have been keeping a close watch on the project. See more pictures here. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The groundbreaking on Tuesday for the new Greylock School was a mesh of past and present. 

 

As a long line of officials grabbed their shovels for the ceremonial dirt toss, the old school was being taken apart behind them and forms for the footings for the new school were being installed across the way. 

 

And perhaps the most important component of the day were the children from Connie Tatro's daycare in their safety vests, already digging in the dirt. 

 

They will be the first prekindergarten class when the school opens in fall 2027.

 

"This is truly a special moment for all of us as this school is being built as a community school today, we are marking more than start of a construction project," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey. 

 

"We're marking the moment when years of planning, collaboration and community commitment become something real, something visible and something that's going to last long beyond any of us. This is where we truly begin turning work from conception to reality."

 

It's taken three mayors, three superintendents, three school building committees and one contentious vote to get to this point.