Management says that they are offering university workers a “generous and fair” 13.5% raise over 2 years. But are they?

Management’s math is that a full step each year (4.75% x 2 = 9.5%) plus 2% annual COLAs equals a 13.5% raise. It seems that management has either forgotten what steps are or wants to mislead the public. Steps exist so that public employee pay gradually increases as they stay on the job, gaining experience and expertise, and benefits both workers and the employer. Steps are an annual expectation for doing a satisfactory job, not a reward. Due to the Great Recession, university workers agreed to step freezes to help offset the impact of the economic downturn. We did our part. Even with adding a new top step, workers would still be below market. 

It’s not just step freezes. COLAs exist to ensure that pay steps are worth as much each year as when they were set. Instead of indexing COLAs to inflation, we bargain for them. Again, due to the Great Recession, workers accepted less to keep universities financially stable. Microscopic COLAs that haven’t come close to the actual increase in cost of living have weakened the step structure and taken money out of workers’ pockets. COLAs have averaged 1.3% over the last decade, most recently 1% in August 2018 and 1% in 2017. Now that the economy is doing well and universities have more resources, it’s time for a fair contract that helps reset the step structure and closes the loss in compensation over recent years. 

The “generous” 13.5% “raise” wouldn’t apply to approximately 30% of workers who have reached their top step. They would only receive the 2% COLAs and some – not all – would also get a relatively meaningless one-time bonus payment of $850. The steps themselves have not been adequately indexed for inflation, so they are now worth less than they were 10 years ago. And we all know that the cost of living has not been going up by just 2%. Management’s 4% over 2 years proposal is on top of having a combined 2% COLA over the last three years. The math simply doesn’t add up. 

Our bargaining team is firm in demanding a contract that reflects classified workers’ value to campuses. We are asking for a new top step and eliminating the bottom step, a 3% COLA in 2019, and a 3.25% COLA in 2020. Anything less would not be fair, nevermind generous.