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.

Northern Berkshire United Way: 1980s Sees Double the Growth, Double the Need

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Monday, July 13, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, we will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. 

 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire United Way rolled through the "Me Decade" on a high. 

 

The "Massachusetts Miracle" ushered in a boomtime — despite gloomy local indicators like the relocation of Sprague Electric, loss of Adams Print Works in a massive blaze, and Photech's bankruptcy.

 

The agency failed to reach its fundraising goals only two times during the decade even as the region's needs grew. For the first time, homelessness and substance abuse were listed among its allocations.

 

Fundraising grew by leaps and bounds as critical human service relief agencies asked for more. An estimated 36,000 people in North County were being served by the agency's affiliates. The funds went to support between 14 and 17 agencies over the decade for health services, youth support, mental health, child care, and family needs. 

 

NBUW was making enough toward the end of the 1980s that it could provide help to nonmembers such as the Dalton Community Chest, a rape crisis center and two homelessness initiatives. It also worked with the Piton Foundation of Colorado on venture funding, including for a peer mentoring program at Drury High School 

 

Mary G. Dailey had given her first dollar to the original Community Chest in 1935 as a worker at Arnold Print Works. As keynote speaker at the 1981 kick off, she credited North Berkshire's generosity as "enthusiasm."

 

"I'm all for enthusiasm," she told the 150 gathered at the Eagles Hall that fall, with her sister, Catherine, as toastmaster. "No other characteristic, with the possible exception of kindness, has contributed so much to happy and successful living."