Just in case you haven't been paying attention, the legislators have officially rescinded our promised pay increase and voted to increase our health insurance premiums.
Although the media seems to be reporting it as a pay freeze, it is really a cut.
As our last paycheck for the academic year is on the horizon, enjoy it! You won't see as much when we finally get paid again on October 1.
8 comments:
With any luck I will be employed elsewhere by then... a sad so long to the land of brats and beer.
I trust I won't be alone.
Even if they won't pay us what we're worth, it would be nice if we were at least appreciated, instead of mocked, insulted, and villified at every turn. I understand the budget is tight, but must we always be the whipping boy and scapegoat for every low-brow with a grudge against education?
Valmo:
In this most recent case the mocking and insults didn't start with 'every low-brow' it started with Gov Jim Doyle who proposed and ram rodded this issue of freezing (means cutting) our pay.
At the same time, he made sure the QEO for public school teachers was rescinded. Thus many of our PhD tenure track prof's (and Asst Prof's) will be teaching and helping to graduate master degree'd public school teachers who will be making more than their college educators. Their salaries will be going up vis a vis our increased taxes and in most districts, we are also paying part or all of their tuition.
Great program. We get cut and we are charged with the orders to educate more and more teachers who will get more money from our higher taxes. No low brow tgrumpets this, it comes from Jim Doyle. He got so much support from system staff and faculty during his last run. Misplaced support it seems.
Next time I see a Doyle sticker on a car with a diamond parking pass I'm going to draw a red circle around it.
I wished we had more lead on these changes, because I might have left! As my spouse told me today, no more turning down job offers. The next one and we are gone.
I don't mind making sacrifices, but why are we constantly receiving verbal abuse and real money cuts, while public school teachers and some unionized employees aren't receiving comparable treatment?
I don't like to see anyone getting hurt because of the economy, but I'm really surprised how higher ed is treated in this state.
Any UWO faculty or staff member who claims that he or she didn't see this coming, just isn't paying attention. Our compensation has fallen behind in good times and in bad for several decades now. The current financial crisis only dramatizes this fact.
At least our classified employees and the local technical college faculty have the right to vote on whether they want to reopen their contracts and give their raises back to Doyle. Because we "unclassified" employees all tend to behave as independent contractors, we have no prospects for solidaristic action and can only whine and complain or leave.
Collective bargaining rights for faculty and staff is still in the state budget. Sign up and vote for it next year if the legislature gives us the chance. Then, our elected officials will have to come to us along with all the other unionized state employees when they are looking for endorsements and money for re-election in 2010.
Technically, the non-represented state employees did get their 2% pay rescinded, it is not a pay cut. All State Employees were in line for a 2% raise in June, those that do not have a collective bargaining agreement will not be getting that. Those of you who work 12 month contracts will still be getting the same amount of money that you were last month. The PAY CUT comes with the furlough days, when you will be scheduled to take off without pay.
Anonymous 11:11, I take your point, but the raises were for the 2008-2009 year. By rescinding those raised (that, ideally, we would have had in our bank accounts at the start of the 2008-2009 contract year), they are cutting our salary down from the official 2008-2009 salary. So I not only did not make as much money THIS year as the record says I would have, I won't "catch up" NEXT year either.
I don't understand the comment about 12-month employees.
You better believe I'll be voting for a union! I never believed in unionizing professionals before, but I am not going to take this sh*t any more. We are going to unionize and ram this bullsh*t down the Legislature's throats. If those grinning jackanapes won't respect us for our talent and ability, will let them respect us for our power.
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