Just as I suspected.

After sending out the e'mail below to the faculty, I received communication
from faculty who received exactly the raw deal I described.  Petersen has
singled out the lowest paid faculty for punishment by receiving a pay
increase that is not only less than cost of living, not only less than for
ANYONE ELSE in the university, but to use this pay cut as the source for
awarding a pay increase to other faculty that is THREE TIMES AS MUCH, on
average.  From now on, if there is any talk about dividing faculty or about
driving wedges between groups of employees, let's remember that THIS IS
WHERE IT BEGAN.

Those who have communicated this information to me are not tenured and do
not want any information about themselves revealed.  I intend fully to
respect these wishes.  I believe fear of retribution is warranted.  The
administration has acted to bully and intimidate employees and to force
them into early retirement.  The climate of fear on campus is
unprecedented, and Petersen's dog-eat-dog tournament incentive scheme can
only make it worse. To those who fear for their jobs, I say Petersen is a
paper tiger, and I say the best way to deal with a bully is to call his
bluff and spit in his eye.

I call on Chancellor Brown and Provost Friedl to investigate this
scandalous treatment and to remedy every instance that has taken place.  By
doing so they can live up to the assurances that were given at last
Thursday's Senate meeting and do the honorable thing by standing with UTC
employees.  I trust they will not respond with some weasel clause in the
legislation or excuse about how Petersen made them do it.  The money saved
that way isn't worth it, and it would only show they are Petersen's
messenger boys and trigger thugs.

I also call on others who have not done so to let me know about instances
in which UTC failed to provide the promised $750 minimum.  I promise to
continue to respect their anonymity and to keep pushing this case until
everyone who has written me follows up with a message to let me know they
have been made whole.

Fritz.

>Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 16:32:12 -0400
>To: FACULTY
>From: Fritz Efaw <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: reminder to anyone making under $50K
>Cc: union
>
>If your base salary is less than $50,000 a year, check the gross amount in
>your last paycheck.  It should be at LEAST $62.50 more than the previous
>month.  This is true even if you did NOT receive an excessive merit rating
>in any of the last five years and are therefore not eligible for the merit
>portion of the recent pay adjustment.
>
>The minimum salary increase of $750 a year that was pried out of the state
>legislature through the efforts of United Campus Workers, despite
>opposition from Governor Bredesen and President Petersen,  applies to ALL
>UT employees, including those who would otherwise have received a 3%
>increase OR a 1.5% increase.
>
>While there is no reason to think an oversight has occurred in the payroll
>office at Knoxville that resulted in the $750 minimum not being applied to
>faculty making between $25K and $50K, such unintentional errors have been
>known to happen.
>
>UCW/CWA will fight this year again for an across-the-board minimum pay
>increase of $1200 for all UT employees as well as a minimum cost of living
>increase.
>
>To find out more about what UCW/CWA is doing for you, go to http://ucw-cwa.org
>
>Fritz Efaw.