AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts union representing 1,500 campus employees is calling out the administration for “authoritarian” actions and cracking down on free speech after learning that two student leaders of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter were facing possible felony charges for allegedly inciting a riot for their role in establishing a pro-Palestinian encampment last spring.

While UMass Police no longer intends to bring criminal complaints against the co-presidents of the organization, according to UMass officials, the Professional Staff Union this week issued statements expressing concern about the continued fallout from the decision by UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes to call in State Police to break up the encampment on the evening of May 7. That led to the arrests of 134 students, faculty and staff members and others from the community.

“We are deeply concerned with the UMass administration’s recent trend toward authoritarian actions suppressing free speech,” Brad Turner, who co-chairs the Professional Staff Union, said in a statement issued by the union. Turner said the union employees support the educational community and the well-being of students.

Turner referenced both the spring arrests and those criminally charged last October for occupying Whitmore Administration Building, as well as an article published in the online The Shoestring that reported the Students for Justice in Palestine leaders would be summoned on charges of inciting a riot to Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown for a show cause hearing before a clerk magistrate.

“Unfortunately, the Reyes administration seems bent on pursuing maximally punitive charges against dissenters on campus, first against 57 students and staff arrested in the fall of 2023, and now against these protesters from May,” Turner said.

This is different from how similar actions on campus have been handled, Turner said, including the “Swamyville” tent city set up in the spring of 2023 to draw attention to the local housing crisis, and the fossil fuel divestment push in 2016 that led to protests taking place inside Whitmore.

The university this week, in a statement issued by Sam Masinter, associate vice chancellor for issues management, said UMass Police is no longer pursuing the charges of inciting a riot, and disputed that free speech was being violated.

“We strongly reject the notion that the university has suppressed free speech, a foundational value of the institution protected both by university policy and the First Amendment. No individual has been or will be punished for expressing their views.”

Northampton attorney Jack Godleski wrote in an email Monday that UMass Police had filed applications for criminal charges against his clients, Maysoun Batley and Ruya Hazeyen, including allegations of inciting a riot, which is a felony.

Godleski wrote that he had subsequently learned that UMass officials decided to withdraw the paperwork for the summons before Friday afternoon’s court hearing, meaning the hearing was canceled. Godleski said, however, that there could be other avenues for bringing charges.

“With that being said, I am taking this afternoon’s developments as welcome news for Ms. Batley and Ms. Hazeyen, with cautious optimism that UMass has decided to do the right thing,” Godleski said.

Still, the Professional Staff Union is raising alarms, after previously joining the other largest faculty, staff, and graduate worker unions in condemning the protest arrests as repression of free speech, with votes of no confidence in Reyes also passed by the Graduate Employee Organization, the Student Government Association and the Faculty Senate.

Andrew Gorry, who also co-chairs the Professional Staff Union, said exercise of free speech without fear of retribution is crucial. “We stand firmly for the rights of all students, staff, faculty, and community members to engage in peaceful protest at our public university,” Gorry said.

Meanwhile, the Professional Staff Union is also critical of how a new Campus Demonstration Policy Task Force was formed, contending that, when announced by Reyes in June, it deliberately excluded union representation, even while developing policies that would directly affect the workplace safety and free speech rights of unionized employees. The union calls this a disregard for the university’s long tradition of democratic government and community participation. The task force, which is expected to finalize recommendations by Aug. 23, is reviewing protest policies and guidelines, including land-use policy, picketing code, and demonstration guidelines, among other policies.

“Political expression, including the ability to demonstrate in public spaces, is the bedrock of our union,” Professional Staff Union member Ari Jewell said in a statement. “If we gather on campus to celebrate or argue for something Chancellor Reyes disagrees with, will we be the next peaceful protesters facing possible felony charges?”

Masinter issued a statement about the reasons for not involving the union.

“The task force — which includes students, staff, and faculty — is charged with reviewing demonstration-related policies and procedures; these are not areas covered by the university’s collective bargaining agreement with PSU. The university will continue to bargain in good faith with all of its unions through the collective bargaining process.”

Comments surrounding the task force’s work were accepted from June 7 through last Thursday, he said.

“The university is pleased that dozens of members of its community, including staff, have shared their input on the task force’s work,” Masinter said.