ECONOMIC PARAMETERS ANNOUNCED

September 17, 2008

Although a salary package has still not been put on the table by management (and we will not see one before October), we have finally been told what "economic parameters" the Patrick administration has authorized for our contracts.

Governor Patrick's parameters are terrible-and unacceptable. Despite all the rhetoric about capital bond bills, life sciences and investment in public higher education, these economic parameters represent a clear disinvestment in public higher education's most critical resource: our staff and faculty.

Hopefully the parameters will change before being presented at the bargaining table in the form of a salary package, but here are their main points based on what we know so far:

July-December 2008: 0% salary increase.
January 2009-June 2011: 2.5% raises to be paid on 1/1/09, 1/1/10, and 1/1/11(for bargaining units such as ours without step increases; 2% raises for those units with steps).
No increase to our health and welfare fund, which covers our dental and vision plan. This is unprecedented, and over three years will doubtless threaten our benefits.
No professional development money.
And finally, a tactic borrowed directly from the anti-union Governor Romney: a "no retro ultimatum," threatening that any contract not settled by January 1st will have the first salary increase delayed to the date of settlement with no retroactivity.

Clearly, these parameters are outrageous.

We've been bargaining since February. Our contract expired in June. We've been told since April that "parameters are on their way." To be told in October that there will be zero per cent for the six months since July is disgraceful.

If inflation continues at the current rate of 5.5% and doesn't get worse, by the end of this contract our real wages will have declined another 9%. Far from stemming the tide of pay cuts, these parameters would accelerate it.

The threat of no retroactivity-accompanied by extremely late parameters and taking cynical advantage of a holiday season deadline-is clearly aimed at undermining and short-circuiting the bargaining process. That threat comes despite an explicit promise made to union leaders by Patrick Chief of Staff Doug Rubin that his administration would never resort to this. Simply put, we were lied to.

The University needs to get its priorities straight. The President's Office needs to put as much effort into improving these parameters as they have into lobbying for new buildings. There are many ways for the University to wield its influence here, and many ways to prioritize the operating budget in order to offset bad parameters and invest in staff and faculty.