Some: raises still not enough

Monday's minimum salary increase was a positive step employee leaders said.

But some feel it was not enough and administrators said financial constraints could hinder future increases.

The University raised the minimum annual salary for full-time employees by $4888 to $250 on Monday. The total amount used in the wage raise was $144000.

Tommy Griffin chairman of the Employee Forum" said he thought the salary raise was a step in the right direction.

""I'm just glad the chancellor found some money to help folks out"" he said.

Griffin also said there remains a significant disparity between the average employee wage on campus, which he estimated to be about $35,000, and the cost of living in Orange County.

I'll be honest with you" a living wage is a little bit more than $420 Griffin said. At today's prices" that's what everybody needs to make.""

Brenda Malone" associate vice chancellor for human resources said the concept of living wage did not play a role in calculating the increase. Dick Mann vice chancellor for finance and administration" said he disagreed with Griffin's estimate.

""A $42"000 living wage? That's nonsense" Mann said. My sense is that the state's minimum is well below what we're setting as a floor. I don't know where they got their number. We operate in relation to what the state numbers are.""

The increase for UNC employees came mostly from a pool of money called the pay improvement fund.

The fund was set aside several years ago to deal specifically with employee salary adjustments. In the past it has was used to augment employee salaries that had either fallen below the state minimum wage or were affected by a rising cost of living.

""Certainly at this point we had the funds" and the chancellor thought that this was an appropriate use of the dollars and we made the decision to do it now" Malone said. Who knows what the budget looks like a year from now?""

Mike McFarland" director of University communications" said other sources of funding include state funds and money generated by faculty research.

He added that individual departments would have to contribute their own funding.

Griffin said Monday's wage increase is progress but still not enough to satisfy employees.

""When it gets to the point that they only have to work one job to survive — that's when it'll be enough"" Griffin said.

Or when it gets to the point where they can afford to send their kids to UNC-Chapel Hill — that'll be about right.""

But the Employee Forum's hopes for future wage increases seem unlikely in the face of financial constraints.

""At this point" there are no immediate plans for future things" Mann said. A lot will depend on what's available. We're looking at a two-point budget cut.""



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.