While the Governor, who was recently named the country’s richest politician, bragged about Tennessee’s designation as “State of the Year” in economic development and job creation, he failed to mention that in the same period it also became the state with the highest rate of minimum wage jobs in the country. Many of these added jobs are only temporary and lack benefits.

“We need an economy that puts the people of Tennessee first, and that includes jobs that pay a living wage and have good benefits, not low wage jobs with no stability,” said Susan Williams, department secretary at the University of Tennessee Knoxville/UTK.

The Governor’s speech included proposed changes to benefits for many state workers, including the longevity bonus which compensates loyal public servants based on years of service. Though it does not yet include higher education employees, many are still concerned that the cuts won't stop there. “I have serious concerns about Haslam’s proposal to eliminate the longevity bonus, folding half of it into base pay and using the rest for merit raises,” said Tom Anderson, a Facilities Services employee at UTK. “I’ve come to expect and rely on that benefit and not for vacations and fluff. Over the years it has paid for doctor and dentists visits, and car and home repairs that would otherwise have been impossible for me to afford. That it’s being gutted is very alarming.”

Proposals to expand access to higher education for Tennesseans were meanwhile applauded, though questions about implementation remain unanswered.

“Like Governor Haslam, we believe that education is key both to economic development and to a functioning democracy. We also think everyone in our state should be able to go to college for free,” said Gabe Crowell, Adjunct, Pellissippi and Roane State Community Colleges." Adequate funding is crucial to achieve these goals. Increasingly, Tennessee relies on low-wage jobs in our public higher education system. We’ve got people on campuses making poverty wages, including folks teaching our students. That’s got to change, and the Governor can change it.”

We invite media to https://www.facebook.com/unitedcampusworkers, where campus workers will be posting what their longevity pay means to them with #HandsOffMyLongevity.
 

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Members available to be interviewed - For more information, please contact:

Cassie Watters, United Campus Workers, 877-292-3865

January 8, 2015

KNOXVILLE - United Campus Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 3865, Tennessee's public higher education union, welcomes President Obama and Vice President Biden's upcoming visit to East Tennessee, and applauds their support for higher education. Every year, we demonstrate to Governor Haslam and the General Assembly that higher education institutions are key economic drivers, and campus employees - from professors and adjuncts, secretaries and custodians, to researchers and counselors - are at the forefront of delivering quality education and essential services to Tennesseans.

Initiatives such as the Drive to 55 and the Tennessee Promise are receiving much attention. What is not receiving attention is the fact that no public policy solution can succeed without publicly financed support. Sweeping public policy initiatives require a strong commitment to public financing. Governor Haslam's higher education initiatives have included zero funding other than to offset student costs. This is not sufficient to support community colleges and technical centers around the state in facing the challenge of thousands of new enrollees in 2015. What's more, despite a rhetorical emphasis on education, funding earned under the new formula as well as pay raises for higher education employees and teachers were the first items the governor cut from the budget. He has broken the promises he made during the 2014 State of the State to make higher education his "top priority," and to make Tennessee a national leader in increasing educator salaries.

Since 2008, politicians at the state capitol have made $200 million in cuts to higher education, which have raised tuition for students and slashed wages for campus workers. They locked in these cuts and tied future funding to poor metrics of educational achievement through the 2010 Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA). This creates a zero-sum game, in which institutions essentially compete with one another for the same funding. Despite misgivings, students and educators rose to the challenge and met many of the new criteria. Instead of being rewarded for these achievements, Governor Haslam slashed higher education again in his 2015 budget.

Our state needs a fully funded higher education system, with a workforce of educators and support staff who are competitively and fairly compensated. Campus workers desperately need a living wage. With no new funding for higher education, and no public funding attached to these public policy initiatives, we can expect continuing poverty wages and an increase in temporary, benefit-free jobs such as adjuncts and outsourced custodians and other support staff.

United Campus Workers has an alternative to Haslam's unsustainable model for Tennessee higher education. Governor Haslam needs to put the people first. Our state needs living wage jobs, high-quality, public education, affordable health care, and respect for our democratic rights to vote, organize, and exercise our constitutional freedoms. Our working conditions are our students' learning conditions.
 

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Members available to be interviewed - For more information, please contact:

Cassie Watters, United Campus Workers, 877-292-3865

UNITED CAMPUS WORKERS
Communications Workers of American local 3865 | Tennessee’s Public Higher Education Union
www.ucw-cwa.org

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