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 Man Charged in Stabbing Father to Death

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
12:46PM / Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue describes the murder as a tragedy, saying the lack of mental health care is leading to 'awful situations.'

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police walked into a "brutal scene" Monday — 67-year-old David Allen Boucher had been stabbed multiple times and left for dead the week before. 

 

His son, David Louis Boucher, 48, had walked into the police station at 11:49 a.m. and told police he had killed his father. 

 

"The victim had been stabbed multiple times, with different objects, sharp objects," said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue after Boucher's arraignment for murder on Tuesday morning. "Multiple wounds. Struggle in the bedroom, struggle in the kitchen. The decedent struggled and fought hard. It was a brutal scene."

 

The attack is believed to have happened on Tuesday, May 5, based on initial evidence including the state of the body and statements made by the defendant, according to the DA's Office.

 

Boucher had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and he is being held without bail at the prosecution's request. He is being held at the Berkshire County House of Correction and is scheduled to appear again in Northern Berkshire District Court on June 12.

 

Shugrue said it was unclear why Boucher waited a week to inform police but noted the investigation is barely 24 hours old. 

 

The younger Boucher lived downstairs and his father upstairs in the multi-unit family home on Walnut Street.