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October 1, 2007
Dear AFSCME member,
The Union Negotiating Committee has met with Temple
University. We have been told by the University negotiators
that the Administration wants to treat us as professionals.
On the second day of negotiations we were told that we
could have the benefits listed in the employee manual
and given to non-union professional employees, benefits
that were given to those employees after we signed our
last contract. They include such benefits as three weeks
vacation after the first year and 50% tuition remission
for spouses. Temple University negotiators also said
that a Fair share fee for those that didn’t want
to join the Union would be included in the contract.
Fair share is an important issue for our Union. It allows
bargaining unit members to pay a fee for the services
that they receive from the Union even if they are not
members, usually 85-90% of the dues. Of course we want
everyone to be a member, but this is a reasonable compromise.
We are one of only three Unions at the University that
does not have a Fair Share arrangement.
However, in order to receive the above benefits the
University said the Union must agree to a Merit Pay plan
that does not allow for any across the board raises.
Merit pay is a scheme that many of us are familiar with
from our last contract. It is an idea that Unions have
long opposed, with good reason. The plan doesn’t
allow for any cost of living adjustment. Temple’s
proposal gives all the decision making to management
to determine raises and doesn’t allow for any review
or input from the Union. What the plan does give us is
one lump sum of money for the bargaining unit, to be
distributed however management sees fit. The Union can
not challenge or grieve the decisions made by supervisors.
The PDP forms that we fill out each year would be used
to decide the raise amount, as well as become the basis
for disciplining employees.
Non- union employees have this compensation system and
many of them get raises well below the 3% allocated to
them as a group. I assume that those employees are fulfilling
their job responsibilities since they still work at Temple.
So how is it that you can do your job, yet not get a
raise that keeps pace with inflation? Could something
else be going on? Given the subjectivity of the PDP and
the possibility that this system can be abused by supervisors
looking to show favoritism to certain employees and punish
others, we think this is a bad system. While you may
have a good supervisor who treats you well, and has been
fair to you, that person can leave, and as many of you
know, your situation can change over night. Rather than
Temple committing the needed resources to employee raises,
it wants to finance raises by taking from your fellow
employees. That means some will get smaller raises so
others can get bigger raises. There is no guarantee under
this system that an individual employee will receive
any raise at all. We believe this system divides workers
and makes team work difficult.
The Union has said to Temple that we support giving additional
compensation to employees who merit it, as long as
the criteria are clear, it is reviewable by the Union
to ensure fairness and after all employees receive
a fair across the board increase. Nothing short of
this is acceptable. We believe that good work should
be rewarded. We don’t believe that compensation
should be an arbitrary process left only to management.
In recent years the University has done very well. Year
after year we have had record enrollment, this year is
no exception. There are buildings going up all over campus.
The University is about to launch the public phase of
a major fund raising campaign. In short times are good
for Temple. The future is clearly bright. Upper Administration
has done very well recently. The University has concentrated
on recruiting and retaining a high quality faculty, and
has committed the resources to do so. It is now time
to concentrate on the professional staff that plays such
a crucial role in making this University successful.
We sent a message during the last negotiations that
we would not accept a flawed, arbitrary, and unfair system
of compensation. Those of us that were here stayed strong
and went five months past the expiration of our contract.
We accepted a compensation package that included a small
base pay increase and a cash bonus. We sacrificed to
demonstrate our commitment to fairness. We will not sacrifice
again. This time the University is going to have to do
their part and offer us a fair and competitive wage package
that will retain the excellent employees in our bargaining
unit, and attract the kind of talent and skill required
to do the work of this University. They need to provide
us with all the benefits non-union professionals receive,
that is only fair, and all members of our bargaining
unit need to pay their fair share. Apparently, resources
are not a problem because the University negotiators
stated that they could meet all of our demands, but only
if we accept their Merit plan. It is time for the University
to step up and treat us with the respect that we deserve.
It is time for them to treat us like the professionals
they say we are.
In Solidarity,
Paul L. Dannenfelser
President Temple/AFSCME Local 1723
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