UCW-CWA sent a letter to members of the UT administration last Monday, pointing out the inequity in that many faculty on this campus will be receiving far less than the minimum $600 that the staff will be receiving.

If no action is taken by the administration, worst case scenarios will show many UT lecturers receiving less than $300 (as many non tenure track faculty at UT earn less than $30,000.

The text of the letter follows.

Dear President Petersen, Chancellor Crabtree, Vice-President Sylvia Davis, and Provost Anne Mayhew,

As news of this year’s pay raises spreads I know that several employees, both faculty and staff, seem to be in utter shock. I am sure that no one in the UT administration is happy with the Tennessee legislature’s choice to provide funding for a 3 percent raise for some state agency employees, while only providing higher education with fund to cover a 2 percent raise. We all are aware that this state mandated raise falls far short of covering last year’s inflation costs (3.4 percent), and likewise we recognize that this raise will do little to help us address the persistence of poverty level wages and thirty years of decay in staff and faculty buying power.

For the sake of open and honest dialogue, we should be clear that the United Campus Workers - Communications Workers of America has a fundamental disagreement with President Petersen’s desire to
incorporate so-called merit pay regardless of the actual level of funds available for pay increases. This year we have been consistent in calling for merit increases only after all employees with minimally satisfactory work-performance receive raises that cover cost-of-living increases. When funds are as limited as they are this year (with only enough state funds to allow for a 2 percent increase), we feel that incorporating a merit component has the potential to cause much more harm than good.

In his e-message to all university faculty and staff this past Friday, President Petersen mentioned the special attention paid by the university administration to employees making salaries at or less than $30,000 a year. We would like to thank him and the entire administration for your concern. We also feel that it is important to note that many employees with advanced and/or terminal degrees and several years of teaching experience also make salaries under, at or only slightly more than $30,000 a year. Under the current raise plan articulated in the aforementioned email, individuals who make up the university’s primary cadre of undergraduate instructors in many subject areas will only see a $250-450 dollar increase in their wages. This is simply not enough to cover
basic expenditures.

For this reason above all, we request that all tenure-track faculty and librarians, adjunct professors and lecturers also see the minimum $600 increase the staff will receive. The language in the state’s Appropriations Bill allows for both merit and equity pay. We feel strongly that this situation qualifies as one in desperate need of some of this equity funding, and we request that the campus and system-wide administration look into ways that this pool can provide a minimally equitable pay increase for all employees.

Over the past year, we have worked to support measures in Nashville that will bring more state funds to the University, and we plan to continue this work. We have worked to maintain a cordial, professional relationship with Mr. Anthony Haynes, and here again we hope that this relationship will continue to become more productive. As we look to the next General Assembly we hope to make progress in addressing issues of fair compensation for all UT staff and faculty, and we would certainly enjoy any opportunity to discuss ways that our agendas can overlap.

Sincerely,
Thomas S. Smith
President, United Campus Workers – Communications Workers of America local 3865