At 02:23 PM 6/16/2004 -0400, Mary Coleman wrote:
>Friends,
>
>I would like to this opportunity to personally thank Dr. Stacy for all the
>hard work and effort I am sure went into to this to make this happen.
>
>I don't know who else is responsible but a big "Thank You" to everyone
>involved for this wonderful news!
>
>And I intend to personally send a letter to our Governor to thank him.
>
>Thank you Dr. Stacy!  You made my day!
>
>
>Mary Coleman

Amid the flurry of encomium e'mails surrounding the prospective salary
increases, I'd like to reiterate my thanks to our colleagues in the United
Campus Workers in Knoxville.  Added on the end of this e'mail is a copy of
one I sent on the weekend concerning the raise.  Although I posted this to
UTCSTAFF and UTCINFO as well, it seems to have been released only to the
more restricted UTCFACULTY list.  I'm sure Chuck rightly judged it to be
superfluous to the UTCINFO list since  the essential good news was
forthcoming from his office as well as from President Johnson and
Chancellor Stacy.  Of course, the spin is a little different: on the bad
news we're always given the word that we're all in this together and we all
have to suffer; on the good news we're always told about the special thanks
due our leaders.  I have no doubt Chancellor Stacy, Mr Ballard, Ms
Crutchfield, President Johnson and Governor Bredesen all worked hard to
bring about this result.  But I don't think we need to approach them as
grateful supplicants, feudal serfs going hat-in-hand to ask Mr Bumble for
more soup.  They have done well the job they were hired to do and they have
responded to the organized pressure WE brought to bear on them.  For that
reason, we really should congratulate OURSELVES and our representatives on
the Employee Relations Committee and the Faculty Federation.  The one group
to whom we owe a special debt of gratitude are our brothers and sisters in
Knoxville who have for years worked on the Council for a Living Wage and
the CWA local it spawned.  There can be no doubt that the structure of the
salary increase that helps the lowest paid among us is due primarily to
their efforts.

Local CWA members now on the UTC campus include my self, Pedro Campa, Bryan
Ross and Shela VanNess.  We look forward to contacting you further in the
fall term.

Fritz Efaw.

The following e'mail was originally sent June 13:


>We received confirmation on Friday, June 11 that there is a strong
>possibility that those making less than $25,000 will be receiving a flat
>dollar raise of $750, which is more than that state mandated 3% raise!
>
>This information was attained by a UCW-CWA member and UT employee who
>discussed the matter with UT Vice Chancellor Denise Barlow's
>office.  Nothing has been finalized as of this notice, but we are told
>that this very likely will happen.
>
>This is a victory for fairness and the university administration should be
>commended for stepping up to the plate by kicking in the extra dollars, if
>this indeed does go through!
>
>Under the state mandated 3% raise and with UT's help, workers at base pay
>level will be receiving up to a 5% raise!
>
>If you make $14,000- 5.36% raise (state mandated 3%= $420; UT adds- $330,
>$750 total)
>
>If you make $16,000- 4.69% raise (state mandated 3%= $480; UT adds-  $270,
>$750 total)
>
>If you make $18,000- 4.2% raise (state mandated 3%= $540, UT adds $210,
>$750 total)
>
>If you make $20,000- 3.75% raise (state mandated 3%= $600, UT adds $150,
>$750 total)
>
>If you make $22,000 year- 3.4% raise (state mandated 3%= $660, UT adds
>$90, $750 total)
>
>
>UCW-CWA has worked hard in the past year to promote living wages for UT
>employees, highlighting the need in the media and through meeting with
>state legislators.  We have had the strong help of UCW-CWA member and
>Faculty Senate President Beavais Lyons, who has addressed the need for
>better wages with the UT Board of Trustees and the UT administration (here
>is a link to his speeches this past
>year:  http://web.utk.edu/~senate/PresAddresses2003-04.html )
>
>Much work still needs to be done to make better improvements, and UCW-CWA
>stands committed to building a strong organization that can address the
>needs and improve the conditions of UT employees.  Join us in this movement!
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________________________________________
>UNITED CAMPUS WORKERS is a democratic, member-run union at the University
>of Tennessee, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America,
>AFL-CIO.  We're building a strong voice for all campus workers and public
>service employees in Tennessee. Join us!
>
>United Campus Workers- Communications Workers of America Local 3865
>1721 West Cumberland
>Knoxville, TN  37916
>Office:(865) 329-0085
>President Sandy Hicks:  (865) 405-2825
>Organizer Cameron Brooks:  (865) 387-4408
>E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
>http://www.ucw-cwa.org
>
>for local information at UTC,
   contact Fritz Efaw, 425-4688