9/22/2011: From Jeff Mapes in the Oregonian:
Oregon legislators are learning that the already battered state budget is taking another $42 million hit because Gov. John Kitzhaber’s settlement with state labor unions came in over the limit he had initially set on pay increases.
The additional cost of the union settlement means that lawmakers may have to cut more deeply into public services when they meet in February.
Pernsteiner’s maid service may even be on the table.
I don’t know a single classified person at UO who will be experiencing a “pay increase”…so this is a bit perplexing. Do the math. A 1.5% COLA does not make up for pay lost because of furloughs and delayed step increases. It is a pay cut for all classified as far as I know. In the meantime OAs continue to get their plump raises in the form of increased salaries or stipend add ons….
Wow…make the state labor unions the scapegoat!!! Incredible. How about making the people who gave out all the administrative staff increases partially responsible!
Poor Richard, he got snookered by the Administrators in Johnson Hall who he trusted to do an honest deal about faculty pay equity. Instead they made sure that they got MAJOR increases covered under the banner of “equity pay”. Oh, why is it so easy to manipulate the word equity when it benefits …..
It would be interesting to compare the increase in total compensation of the various groups — faculty, administrators, union staff. I would bet that it’s union > faculty > administrators i.e. the union workers did the best.
The moaning of the union people is getting tiresome. (And I supported them.) A good case can be made that they’re overpaid, compared to the market they’re in. Lariviere helped them greatly with his raises to the faculty and administrators. They should stop the complaining and maybe show some appreciation.
What? The person commenting before me really believes that the union workers came out on top of all this? Certainly, you never worked at an OUS institution. Faculty and administrators are at the feeding trough on a daily basis – money for travel, equipment (even when what they have is already new), sprucing up their office, etc. Staff? Yes, they get plenty too, but certainly not compensation. What they get is increased workload, disrespect, complaints about how long it takes them to get things done, and, when they retire, most of the time their duties are just split up and given to other classified staff. That a look at the jobs available at the UO. Academic administrators? The list is huge. Staff jobs? Very small. Those who stay get more and more work for less money. Sure, the faculty are underpaid compared to many institutions in the country, but they get a mighty large slice of the OUS pie.
The poster claiming union workers came out on top needs to take a basic math course. Not a single member of the classified staff was given a 10% raise, let alone a 30% one.
Post all you want about supposedly having supported the union, it certainly sounds like you really did not.
Next time you go to piss or offload in a campus toilet, imagine the custodial worker who cleaned and stocked the bathroom so you could wipe, wash your hands, and dry your hands. Yeah, please find that person and tell them they are overpaid.
Or you try to appreciate the work they do instead of moaning about them wanting to make more money instead of being subjected to pay freezes, furlough days, and now having to pay for a portion of their healthcare.
When do administrative pay freezes, furlough days, and insurance fees start? I will give the VPFA credit here for trying to save money by serving granola bars and coffee at the mandatory VPFA Kickoff instead of a full breakfast. After all, you do have to adjust to pay all that overtime to hear Frances drone on.