Wage freeze proposed for faculty at state’s universities
By MARTHA RAFFAELE AP Education Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The State System of Higher Education has proposed a wage freeze for its 5,500 faculty members and is also asking them to contribute toward health care benefits for the first time under a two-year contract proposal, Chancellor Judy Hample said Friday.
But reaching agreement by June 30, when the current contract expires, will be difficult since economic proposals submitted by negotiators for both sides earlier this month are “quite far apart,” Hample said in a wide-ranging interview with reporters.
The contract talks are intensifying as the system lobbies state lawmakers to restore a 5 percent cut in aid to the 14 state-owned universities. At the same time, officials are trying to limit any potential tuition increase and asking the schools to cut spending if state funding still comes up short.
“We are working hard to try to fashion a solution where the faculty, the students and the taxpayers all win to some extent,” Hample said. “However, given the fiscal climate that we’re in, we don’t think it’s possible for any one of those groups … to walk away from these negotiations completely happy.”
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties has proposed a three-year contract with salary increases of 2 percent in the first year, 3.25 percent in the second year, and 3 percent in the third year.
It also opposes the system’s proposal to institute a co-pay system for health benefits. Specific fees have not been determined, Hample said. Union members are not currently required to contribute toward health insurance costs, which system officials say are expected to increase by more than 10 percent in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
“They are actually looking for additional concessions and making our jobs more difficult and less appealing, and less attractive to getting and keeping new faculty,” union president William Fulmer said.
Average annual salaries for union members are currently $42,000 for instructors; $56,000 for assistant professors; $70,000 for associate professors; and $87,000 for professors.
The state system’s proposal also calls for the elimination of tuition waivers for faculty members’ spouses or children who attend any of the 14 universities. Faculty members would still be eligible for tuition waivers, however.
Both sides were previously negotiating a new faculty contract a year ago, but agreed to a one-year extension in June. That pact increased salaries 2.5 percent.
The state system sought a 4.5 percent increase in its appropriation for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and also proposed boosting tuition by 4.5 percent to balance its $1.1 billion budget. Its funding cut was automatically included in the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That budget was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in March.
The system’s board of governors is expected to adopt tuition rates for the 2003-2004 school year in July. Last year, the board approved a 9 percent increase for resident undergraduates – the system’s largest increase ever – after state aid was reduced by 3 percent.
Hample declined to say how much of an additional increase the board might consider, but said “I don’t see them jumping out with a big tuition increase. I just don’t believe that’s going to happen.”
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On the Net:
Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties: http://www.apscuf.com
State System of Higher Education: http://www.sshechan.edu
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Martha Raffaele covers education for The Associated Press in Harrisburg.
_AP-ES-05-31-03 0003EDT