UT AAUP "Updation"

Forgive the format change, please--Bloggie

To: Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty

From: Linda Rouillard, Vice President, UT-AAUP

Date: December 15, 2014

We recently reported that the BOT had filed for fact-finding. Now, they want to return to the table with a mediator. The first meeting with the mediator takes place on Wednesday, December 17.

Here is a summary of recent BOT proposals for tenure/tenure-track compensation and health benefits

	BOT proposal in August 2014	BOT proposal (last, final) on September 26, 2014
Back Pay	None	None
Salary	•                a 3% increase in 2014, 1% in 2015, and 1% in 2016 - a total of 5% across-the-board for the next three years	•                $2000 applied to base, then 2.7% in year 1, followed by 2% in year 2, and 2% in year 3
Merit	•                a total of 1.5% for Merit over three years and 1.5% for Faculty Excellence Awards over three years	•                no merit pay, but a possible extra 1% in year 2, and 1% in year 3, should there be a 2% increase in enrollment
Health Care	•                employee contribution to health care would increase to 20%	•                employee contribution to health care would increase to 20%
Summer Teaching	•                capped at $2800 per credit hour	•                capped at $2800 per credit hour

As we reported in our two members' meetings in early September 2014, the majority of members responding to our survey about the BOT August 2014 proposal indicated that they would not be willing to accept a contract with such provisions.

Faculty hired since 2010 have seen no raises since their arrival. Faculty members who have devoted their careers to UT have had no raises in 4 years because the Jacobs' Administration, with the BOT's blessing, was determined to beat down the union.

On the other hand, the BOT has allowed administrators to richly reward each other. In fiscal year 2013-2014, as the Administration continued to drag out our negotiations, the BOT approved over $3 million in pay increases for approximately 240 individuals. More specifically, the BOT

•    gave the VP/General Counsel a $29,040 raise or a 15% increase;

•    moved an Executive Associate Dean to an Associate Vice Provost position---at an additional cost of $35,000 or a 23.3% increase;

•    promoted an Associate Dean to an Associate Provost with a salary increase of over $41,399 or a 40% increase;

•    promoted a VP for Medical Affairs and Associate Dean to Chief Operating & Clinical Officer and Senior Associate Dean - accompanied by a $45,000 raise or a 14% increase;

•    promoted the Associate Dean of the College of Medicine to Interim Dean -added cost of $102,770 or a 65% increase.

If UT's budget can handle these kinds of increases, it can afford to recognize the hard work of the faculty.

The $3 million in pay increases to anyone but union faculty would fund close to a 6% raise for our 600 bargaining unit members whose total salaries were approximately $51 million in FY2014.

Our UT-AAUP 2008-2011 contract provided 3% annual raises. No raises in 4 years at 3% of $51 million amounts to $6.12 million. Administrators have had this money long enough; it's time to share.