The best part of this is that OUS is asking for the right to mandate additional forced unpaid days. Now, I know I live in the rarefied world of organized labor and I work for wealthy elite public employees, but Jesus "H." Christ, I really thought that the days when your manager could walk into your office and tell you to take the day off unpaid were over when we left the world of fast food. I mean seriously?
It gets even better. Apparently, there are plans afoot to find some way the UO can "furlough" faculty as well. For the life of me, I can't imagine what the hell this could mean in an academic setting. Or, I can imagine, but I can't figure out what the difference between "furloughing" a professor and "cutting the pay of" a professor might be. Lord knows the UO is not going to "furlough" a professor on a day when she actually has to teach a class. I guess the UO will just cut a professor's pay by 5% and tell them they don't have to come in on ten days, not that they would have to anyway?
But it gets even better, because the UO administration is all about feeling your pain. Dig this:
If the administration does ask faculty to take furlough days, [Senior Vice President and Provost Jim Bean] said, the faculty won't be alone. Both Bean and President Dave Frohnmayer intend to take several furlough days as well, he said.That's right, $400,000 a year man, Dave Frohnmayer totally plans on taking some furlough days before he retires this June. A noble sacrifice, indeed. With (temporary) leadership like that, we cannot fail! Oh, I know that the two things don't have anything to do with each other, but I just can't help myself mentioning the now-being-constructed student-athlete study center, the almost-completed baseball stadium, and the just-getting-started basketball arena. Dave was right there when it came time to get money for those valuable projects.
As if it couldn't get better, soon to be totally taking some furlough days Provost Bean and President Frohnmayer recently turned down the opportunity to sign onto a neutrality agreement over the faculty organizing drive here at the UO. Apparently, they didn't want to tie the hands of the incoming President. I love how they can't tie his hands when it comes to a faculty organizing campaign, but they apparently perfectly willing to tie his hands when it comes to wage cuts for faculty. On the other hand, by issuing statements like this, Provost Bean seems to be going beyond a neutrality statement and is outright asking the faculty to please organize.
Lastly, if the UO thinks they are going to sit down and ask GTFs to take "furlough" days, or a pay cut, if you will, I'll have one response to them. Fuck you.* I don't care if every other motherfucker on this campus is forced to take "furlough" days. We aren't going to do it. GTFs have been getting fucked on this campus for years and I won't accept that we need to continue to do it just because everyone else is doing it. If the classified union doesn't have their shit together enough to resist, which I hope to Christ they do, then too bad. If faculty take pay cuts, well, they need a union. If administration has to take pay cuts, you'll get no tears from me. Even if we're by ourselves, the GTFF will stand and say "Fuck no." Balance your budget on someone else's back, we carry too much as it is.
*In my guise as union organizer, I am sometimes forced to use language and tactics that I would never deploy in my personal life. I have to talk the language "of the people," if you will. Forgive me.
8 comments:
BOOM! Dave is back! 20 unpaid days is a lot! That's not insignificant. Are the President and Provost going to give up 20 days--or, to be fair, more than 20 days?
The faculty piece of this is utterly absurd. How can they get away with calling the faculty component of this "furlough days"??? Sounds like the profs should have gotten off their asses and gotten themselves unionized sooner. Now is too late to prevent what's about to happen to them.
Fuck yeah on GTFs saying no to "furloughs"! Go Dave!
Amen, brother Dave! I think faculty did take furlough days at Maryland. But, it was graded by pay (lowest employees, including TAs, had zero, anyone making over $90,000 had five days).
I think that if the faculty are furloughed then they should not teach class or provide service to the university on those days (no committee meetings, faculty meetings, etc.). I imagine they wouldn't want to stop their research because that will be their one ticket to get the hell out of Dodge, err.., I mean Eugene.
I like how Maryland does it. Makes sense.
Also, I really, really dug this post. For a variety of reasons.
Well played, sir.
Despite your having to lower yourself to "using the language of the people."
Ah. I needed that. Thanks.
In Maryland, the faculty are scheduled to take furlough days when they don't teach classes. Which, of course, doesn't mean they're not working. I know a couple of people who's scheduled furlough days are during Spring Break, which is essentially a revocation of paid vacation.
Furlough's are bullshit.
Totally agreed on the furlough aspect. They are utter, utter bullshit. As someone who had three "furlough" days taken from my contract without any say on my part, I am not disputing that.
In a perfect world, we could easily (and quickly and efficiently) say "Fuck you" to this concept and they'd have no ability to do it. But, unfortunately, they are doing it. And we're fighting it, but whether or not we see the changes done by fighting any time soon is another matter. I guess I just like the idea that if they were asking people to sacrifice, they were focusing on those who could, conceivably, afford more than others to sacrifice. Doesn't make it fair, but it seems the lesser of the evils and all that.
And Dave, GTF's HAVE been getting fucked on Oregon's campus for many years. In many different places, I'm sure. Just ask some of 'em...especially KA. True story. True story. [Zing]
I, of course, kid. Totally inappropriate joke and reference to a friend. But it had to be made.
Furloughs are being planned at Illinois too, but word on the street is that it will only be directed at the (non-unionized) Academic Professionals. Maybe they'll get off their asses and organize as a result.
Amen! This is absurd. Glad you're back.
"...I really thought that the days when your manager could walk into your office and tell you to take the day off unpaid were over when we left the world of fast food."
I applaud D's drawing attention to the fact that ff ees get treated like dog poop, but as much as public employees shouldn't be required to agree to take random unpaid days, food service workers also have bills to pay - and many of them do not have the resources to move into the elite, cushy, overpaid life that public employees enjoy.
Oh, and this Frohmeyer guy seems like a raging d-bag.
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