Nov 07, 2009 | 10:57
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Jun 25, 2009
UCLA leaders to ask Yudof to consider changes to pay-cut options
An estimated 2,500 UCLA employees gathered in Pauley Pavilion on June 24 for a Q&A about a proposed UC-wide pay cut/furlough plan, where Chancellor Gene Block and other campus officials said they are asking UC's Office of the President (UCOP) to consider a number of changes to the current options. Among other issues, they have asked UCOP to consider creating a multi-tiered or sliding scale system of salary reductions, with a range of lower percentages taken from more UC employees and higher percentages from high-wage earners. UCLA officials are also asking for more local flexibility in applying the proposed furlough option, should that be selected, with the possibility of exempting employees whose salary cannot be used to reduce the deficit.
The pay cut, which could take the form of unpaid days off, salary reductions or a combination of the two totaling 4 percent for employees making less than $46,000 and 8 percent for others, is one of several steps the University of California system is proposing to address a $619 million state reduction in UC funding for fiscal year 2009-10. UC President Mark Yudof is expected to recommend a version of the pay-cut plan to the UC Regents for approval on July 16.
"Our [share of the state budget] cut will really be devastating," Block said. "There is no doubt it will have an impact on salaries."
Block and other UCLA representatives addressed far-ranging questions from staff about what shape the plan might take, emphasizing that they don't yet have all the answers but share many of the same concerns.
"The issues you raise are issues we're struggling with," Block said. "Keep commenting, because we're passing along your views to the Office of the President."
A recurring theme among staff questions (read the complete transcript or watch the video) was a request to create a sliding scale of percent-salary cuts based on several levels of income.
"I will be evicted for certain with an 8 percent pay cut," one woman said. "I would like to propose a sliding scale, because I think it's grossly unfair for us to carry the burden of the higher-salary earners who will not be visited with eviction [or] with the inability to pay their utility bills."
"Quite a few employees commented on exactly this point," said Lubbe Levin, associate vice chancellor for Campus Human Resources, in response to an earlier question on the same point. "Some have even proposed a very specific sliding scale, or progressive approach, similar to the way income taxes work. What we are planning to do is send the Office of the President a write-up about these proposals, hopefully in time for them to consider the approach." However, there aren't enough high-earners to balance the budget just with their salaries, Levin cautioned.
Several employees at the Staff Assembly-hosted event asked why all staff should face cuts, when many employees are paid out of funds that cannot be diverted to solve the budget crisis. Steve Olsen, the vice chancellor of Finance, Budget and Capital Programs, agreed, saying he is "very concerned" about that part of the plan. The salary savings under the proposed plan add up to approximately $40 million that can be used to backfill the general fund, Olsen explained. Employees whose salary savings cannot be applied to the general fund will still face cuts under the currently proposed options because the plan aims to spread the burden equally across all employees. Those pay cuts will be funneled back into the employee's own department to be used in other ways, Olsen said.
"The proposal that we have seen has introduced this broad concept of equity, which translates into equal treatment for all employees," Olsen answered. "We're very concerned about the way that this proposal is affecting different areas of campus, especially in areas where the savings generated from this proposal won't actually benefit the general fund ... we've expressed those concerns to the Office of the President, and we're not the only campus that has."
The trio of campus leaders voiced their opinions on a number of other changes they will ask UCOP to consider. For example, employees who have already reduced their hours voluntarily through the START program should be exempt from the pay cuts, if possible. If part-time employees are reduced to less than half-time by furloughs, they should not lose their health benefits.
Dozens of union representatives protested outside the meeting, arguing that UC should focus on reducing top earners' salaries or dip into its endowment rather than turn to across-the-board employee pay cuts. More than 20,000 of UCLA's 29,000 staff are union-represented, and how the salary-cut plan affects them will be determined by collective bargaining between UCOP and the unions.
Anticipated reductions in state funding for '09-'10 are expected to leave UCLA about $110 million short of what it needs to balance its budget. Thus far, departments have been required to cut their budgets 5 percent for a savings of $33 million, and the 8 percent salary cuts could save $40 million, leaving UCLA looking for ways to cut more than $40 million more by next week's July 1 deadline.
UC senior administrators — such as Yudof and Block — have already voluntarily reduced their salaries by 5 percent for 2009-10, and would have their salaries reduced by a total of at least 8 percent under UC's currently proposed options. The campuses have already implemented hiring freezes and/or slowed hiring, eliminated many vacant positions, and reduced travel and other expenses. At UCLA, at least 180 people have been laid off during this fiscal year.
A June 17 letter from Yudof laying out options for the proposed salary reductions galvanized UCLA staff, transforming Wednesday's meeting from just another semi-regular Budget Town Hall into a mass event. Although previous staff meetings have attracted perhaps 300 employees, RSVPs to Wednesday's gathering surged, forcing organizers to shift it from Schoenberg Hall to the main stage of Royce Hall, and finally to Pauley Pavilion to accommodate hundreds of people on a waiting list.
For more information:
- UC President Mark Yudof's June 17 letter outlining options for a salary reduction plan: http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/document/FurloughReductionOptions.pdf
- Frequently Asked Questions about proposed 8 percent salary reductions: http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/document/FurloughFAQ.pdf
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Transcript of the June 24 Q&A for UCLA staff in Pauley Pavilion: http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/read-a-transcript-of-the-budget-94900.aspx
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Video of the June 24 Q&A for UCLA staff in Pauley Pavilion: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/electronicplay.aspx?fid=72904&id=E0C12367
- Ongoing budget news from UCLA Newsroom's Budget Page: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/campus-budget.aspx
