Did I somehow miss the union election that empowered 210 employees of the
Knoxville campus to negotiate wages for the 13,782 UT system faculty and
staff?
-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Fritz Efaw
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 5:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] UT employees may see flat raise--news article
>>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.
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