>>Hello UT Employees and Community Members:
>>
>>Below is an article in today's UT Knoxville Daily Beacon about the
>>union's 2005 Fair Raise Campaign for a flat $1200 raise.  We are making
>>some headway with getting support among our legislators, as the article
>>details.  The union's current membership is 210 UT employees, and we need
>>for other employees to join with us, so we gain more strength and  power
>>to get the raises and justice we need.  Email us if you are
>>interested.  Below is the article.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>UT employees may see flat raise
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>><http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/userhomepage.php?userid=1005>John Huotari -
>>Senior Staff Writer
>>
>>2005-02-22 18:36:07
>>
>>Three Knoxville representatives in the state Legislature have sponsored a
>>bill designed to give a $1,200 annual pay raise to employees of The
>>University of Tennessee and other state colleges and universities.
>>
>>Legislators Republican Sen. Tim Burchett and Democratic Reps. Harry
>>Tindell and Joe Armstrong said in telephone interviews Monday that a flat
>>raise would be better for some lower-paid UT employees than Gov. Phil
>>Bredesen's proposed 2 percent raise. Bredesen proposed the raise in his
>>Jan. 31 State of the State speech.
>>
>>Although additional state resources are scarce, especially with TennCare
>>consuming most new money, employee compensation issues need to be
>>discussed, Burchett said.
>>
>>"I realize that the university succeeds in spite of the administration
>>sometimes and the main reason it does is because of these folks: the
>>folks at the physical plant, the secretaries and the UT policemen,"
>>Burchett said. "They are the glue that holds the whole thing together."
>>
>>Burchett, whose district includes UT, said he has not yet discussed
>>university employee compensation with President John Petersen, but he has
>>found Petersen's administration to be "very open-minded."
>>
>>"I look forward to working with them on this issue," Burchett said.
>>
>>Tindell said he also has not discussed the proposed pay raise with UT
>>administrators, but he called the minimum $750 raise administrators gave
>>last year to full-time employees with satisfactory service a "bold move."
>>
>>"The administration has shown a willingness to tackle this issue,"
>>Tindell said.
>>
>>The governor's staff is receptive to the $1,200 pay raise, if legislators
>>can find the money, Burchett said.
>>
>>And so are some legislators who believe flat raises are more equitable,
>>Tindell said. He said legislators might consider giving flat raises to
>>some employees and percentage raises to others.
>>
>>Armstrong agreed, as long as university workers get a minimum of $1,200.
>>
>>"I would hope that we could compensate those employees, particularly
>>those that are at the lower end," Armstrong said.
>>
>>The legislators have worked on the pay raise bill with the United Campus
>>Workers-Communications Workers of America, a local chapter of a national
>>union to which roughly 200 UT employees belong.
>>
>>Fifteen members of the UCW-CWA traveled to Nashville two weeks ago to
>>lobby for the $1,200 pay raise, said Elizabeth Gentry, UCW-CWA president
>>and an English lecturer. Gentry said she was excited to see the
>>legislation drafted.
>>
>>"I'm glad to see an alternative to what Gov. Bredesen proposed that is
>>not percentage-based," Gentry said.
>>
>>She said when union members lobbied, they found a lot of legislators who
>>were receptive to a flat, across-the-board raise.
>>
>>But she has not yet discussed the proposal with Petersen.
>>
>>Petersen was unavailable for comment.
>>
>>The pay raise legislation has been referred to the Senate Finance, Ways
>>and Means Committee and the House Education Committee for further
>>consideration.
>>
>>The pay raise, if passed into law, would take effect July 1.
>>
>>Everything, including this bill, hinges on TennCare reform, which is
>>currently under federal judicial review, Armstrong said. "TennCare is the
>>biggest question mark in the budget this year."
>>
>>
>>
>>UNITED CAMPUS WORKERS is a democratic, member-run union at the University
>>of Tennessee Chattanooga and Knoxville, 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
>>Toll Free:  1-877-CWA 3865
>>Organizer Cameron Brooks:  (865) 387-4408
>>President Elizabeth Gentry:  (865) 546-9584
>>Email:  [log in to unmask]
>>http://ucw-cwa.org
>
>Fritz.