FY14 Staff Compensation Increase Update - Memo from President Gamble and Request for Staff Feedback

To All Non-Represented Staff,

On November 1 Staff Alliance members received a memorandum from UA President Pat Gamble regarding the staff compensation increase for the FY14 budget. He has included a 3.25% compensation increase in the operating budget being brought before the Board of Regents Wednesday Nov. 7 for their approval.

Please go the Staff Alliance blog at: http://www.uastaffalliance.wordpress.com to read President Gamble's explanation and to tell us what you think of this compensation increase. To submit your feedback, click on the words ‘Leave a Comment’ located on the grey bar immediately below the message.  We will report back on how the Regents vote.

Alliance has also started a conversation on with President Gamble on other ways to meaningfully compensate and reward staff. Please use the blog to provide us with your thoughts and ideas.  You can post your feedback on the blog using the blue 'Leave a Comment' link located below the message.   

UA Staff Alliance

Staff Council - June 2012 Highlights

• Staff Council elected a new President and Vice President for the upcoming year. Congratulations to Juella Sparks, President and Claudia Koch, Vice President. 
• Staff Alliance put forth a request to the President to use 5.5% place holder in the FY14 Budget request for staff compensation. Staff Alliance will have their annual retreat in August at which time there will be an election of officers for the upcoming year. 
• Health Care Task Force has now been established with 11 members. The task force will be encouraged to create a website to keep staff informed of the process. 
• Chancellor Rogers: 1. New Engineering Building will connect College of Engineering and Mines to the Bunnell Building. 2. First time the legislature has allocated monies for research. 3. Fundinbg for the heat and power plant will be requested in the FY14 budget. 4. A public/private partnership has been established to expand the Wood Center dining and to replace the Lola Tilly Commons. 5. Possible 2% tuition increase. 
• Jennifer Reynolds, Faculty Senate President - There is an effort to institute an electronic faculty reporting system. The system can be used to report: a. University performance b. Unit performance c. Outreach activities, detailed review and d. Who taught a specific course. Two software programs were reviewed by faculty and the program that will be viewed more in depth is Faculty 180 from Data 180.  This program is only being reviewed by UAF at this time and a selected few faculty members will participate in a pilot program using the software. If the program works as hoped it will go into effect for UAF and possibly all MAU's. Implementation is a concern; however, UAF faculty has a good relationship with the Provost Office and Dana Thomas and believes this program will be beneficial to the administration and faculty. 

Email Campaign for FY13 Staff Increases

The Staff Alliance Compensation Working Group is calling for an email campaign in support of FY13 staff increases, to be discussed at the BOR meeting September 22-23, 2011.

Our rational supports a 4.6% salary increase, although due to the economic realities we agreed to accept a minimum of 3.5% increase.

Things to consider:

• In FY12 staff accepted a greater financial risk with the newly designed healthcare plans, regardless of the plan selected.
• The BOR responds positively to personalized testimony
• State employees receive grid increases, to address COLA, and an additional est. 3.5% every year for the first seven steps, and an est. 3.75% increase bi-yearly thereafter.

In general we are asking staff to respectfully support our request.
Please have emails sent to sybor@alaska.edu

What Happened at the June Meeting?

New motions are being made and/or readdressed to the UAF Staff Alliance.  These motions include: smoker surcharge, employee tuition waiver, and a new health care task force.

What are these motions?

• Smoker surcharge requests the removal of the smoker surcharge to the FY13 Health Care Plan.
• Employee tuition waiver relates to not supporting any alteration of the current waiver to include a 6-month waiting period for new hires and the repayment of tuition waived for any classes failed.
• Health care task force - this is requesting a new group to be established to help review the health care plans provided by UAF.

UAF Staff Alliance Met Alaska Legislature

UAF Staff Alliance met in Juneau February 25th. Juella Sparks and Martin Klein were there for 2 days meeting with Alaska Legislators to advocate for UAF budget. There are 3 items worth noting from this trip.

1. There is real concern about another multiple appropriation budget for the university this year.
2. There is a fundamental and essential need for someone to be in Juneau advocating for UAF, possibly a Political Action Committee. UAA has established this committee and they are being utilized to the fullest extent. This would be a membership and dues paying based committee.
3. The federal economic stimulus bill is wreaking havoc with spending plans with the Alaska Legislature.