A quorum being present, President Stephanie Watson called the meeting of the University of Georgia Staff Council (UGA-SC) to order at 2:00 p.m.
Present were Sarah Fraker and Annette Hatton from Academic Affairs; Freya Browning, Frances Cochran, Greg Durham for Jeannie Dawson, Jim Graham, and Donna Kent from Agriculture and Environ- mental Sciences; Robyn Ansley and Beth Richardson from Arts and Sciences; Arthur Bastidas, Darlene Bradley, Henry Bridges, Annette Ferguson, Frank Patman, and Billy Walker from Business and Finance; Alison Huff from Development and Alumni Relations; Leisa Seabolt from Environmental Design; Shea Landers from Family and Consumer Sciences; Betty Blum from the Graduate School; Merrill Edens from the College of Journalism and Mass Communication; Teresa Shirley representing Legal Affairs, the Office of the President, and the Equal Opportunity Office; Ruby Heaton and Ben Rice for Margot Peter from Public Service and Outreach; Sally Kroehnke from Research; Sarah Douthitt from Social Work; Shirley Reyes and Margaret Stephan from Student Affairs; Elizabeth Pape from the Terry College of Business; Tony Hughey from the College of Veterinary Medicine; Brenda Keen, Secretary; Clyde Anglin, Immediate Past President; Mary Cash, Parliamentarian; and Victor Wilson, Staff Liaison from the Office of the President.
Absent were Marilyn Huff-Waller from Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; Janet Bjornlie from Business and Finance; Shea Ray from the College of Education; Miranda Rains from Forest Resources; Kathy Burkes from the School of Law; Liz Stich from the College of Pharmacy; Ian Gray from Research; and Allison Wright from the College of Veterinary Medicine. Since 30 voting members were present, 16 would constitute a majority. Minutes of the August 5, 1998 meeting were adopted after correction of Jackie Kohler's name in the Health & Safety Committee report section.
Stephanie reported the Executive Committee met on August 13. She is communicating with President Adams' office about dates for meetings and listing items to discuss. A letter was sent to President Adams requesting additional funding and outlining immediate and long-term financial needs. In the letter, Stephanie mentioned support for The Staff Voice and requested funds for six members to travel to the statewide staff conference. The President has agreed to donate computer equipment and a copier to the Staff Council office. The committee is checking to see who is the networking supervisor for Hardman Hall. The office is getting new carpeting and the ceiling is being fixed. Ruby Heaton and Teresa Shirley are drafting a policy for the use of office keys.
Stephanie sent a memo to committee chairs listing suggested issues to work on this year. She is also working on a display for the statewide conference. The next Executive Committee meeting will be September 17 at 2:30 in the Ecology Building conference room.
Elizabeth Pape, co-chair of the Communications Committee, reported the next issue of The Staff Voice is ready for layout. In addition to two issues per year of the newsletter, the committee plans to post articles and letters to UGASTAFF and the website. Art Bastidas suggested some items should be sent to Columns since not everyone has computer access. The committee will try to have the next newsletter out in time for the statewide conference. A new category has been added to the webpage: This 'n That (little facts taken from the UGASTAFF list).
Sally Kroehnke, chair of the Health and Safety Committee, said the committee met but had no report.
Tony Hughey reported the Needs and Concerns Committee met on August 17. The OFCCP ad hoc committee was disbanded. They were unable to generate an agenda because only three people attended. The next meeting is scheduled for 1:00 on September 17. Stephanie reminded him the committee should draft a letter regarding the exit procedure committee.
Arthur Bastidas said the Classification and Pay Committee met twice to fulfill its charge to have a revised Resolution on Pay Raise Equity ready for a vote. He said some people thought the original resolution was too inflammatory. The committee prepared a revised version; afterwards a second draft was distributed electronically, but it was not discussed in committee. [Both versions were distributed with the minutes and agenda.]
Mary Cash questioned whether the increases reported in the newspaper were in base pay or in salaries; Art replied they were salary increases. Brenda noted they were referred to as base pay to differentiate the core salary from additional monies such as the president's subsistence allowance and the chancellor's supplemental income. Mary said she thought the resolution should be reworded to say salary instead of base pay. Art asked which draft should be considered. Annette Hatton said after discussion of the two drafts in her area, people were upset with the first draft, saying it had no "teeth." Even the second needed more specifics to explain the resolution. She brought written suggestions for revising the second draft and additional backup information from various sources, including the Office of Human Resources and the 1997 Fact Book. She presented the material to Stephanie. Stephanie noted the suggestions were too extensive to deal with during this meeting. Art pointed out the committee met twice but people didn't show up. Annette apologized for the lateness of the suggestions. Stephanie said it would probably be better to give the suggestions and resolution back to the committee.
Merrill asked whether the chancellor's salary is paid by the Board of Regents and questioned the 7% limitation mentioned in the revised resolution. The limitation applies only to UGA. Annette Ferguson asked what is the purpose of the resolution. Art replied it is to make a statement saying such a high percentage is not fair because of the amount of money involved. Annette F. suggested giving ideas on how to resolve that instead of attacking the president's salary. Leisa said the raise was within budget guidelines and there's nothing we can say; the more we limit them, the more we limit ourselves. She suggested we discuss dollar amounts rather than percentages. Art noted the committee discussed caps on increases. Annette Hatton said the suggested changes put the emphasis less on pay but more on the fact that the difference in salary increase is more than a lot of employees earn annually. If someone is making $10,000 - $13,000, that's the problem. Art agreed that the president's increase alone is more than the annual salary of many entry level positions.
Ruby said we're addressing the wrong problem; we need to address the problem in the pay and classification system which hasn't been revised since 1977 and is totally outdated. Base salaries at UGA are way below state merit salaries. Leisa said looking at the classification system can cause problems, too, because of salary compression; only base salaries will be adjusted, and long-term employees will not receive any more money. Stephanie noted that automatic review was one of the issues brought up at the last meeting.
Victor suggested we compare other SEC presidents' salaries and raise percentages. Stephanie noted that had been discussed; there was some feeling it wasn't necessarily applicable and some disagreement with that feeling. She said unless someone wanted to make a motion to vote on Draft 1 or Draft 2, the resolution should be sent back to committee. Art asked that committee members gather with him after the meeting.
Mary suggested comparing the salaries of the president and various job classifications, e.g., physical plant workers and secretaries, to those of other universities around the country. Annette Ferguson said the comparison should be with a city similar to Athens. Greg Durham said the university did a comparison a couple of years ago and said it didn't have the money to fix the situation. Although a plan is there, and the Board of Regents knows about salary compression, they don't have the money it would take to implement the plan. Elizabeth said she thinks it's a broader issue than what the president makes. She said when you compare 6% for a $12,000 job and for a $100,000 job, a percentage raise is unfair because of the difference in dollar amounts.
Stephanie asked if the body agreed the resolution should go back to committee and which draft should be considered. Annette Hatton said her suggested revisions would not fit the first draft. Sarah noted there will be a new head of Human Resources and suggested that a letter be sent to him/her on arrival. Elizabeth pointed out our raises are set by the legislature, not Human Resources. Sarah said she was told Human Resources sets the base pay. Clyde said those are based on studies; there's a Hay System that's been in place since '78 that gives ranges for certain classifications.
There was some discussion on whether the recipient of the resolution should be decided in advance of further revision. Clyde pointed out we are an advisory body to the president, and it was agreed the resolution would go to Dr. Adams if it passed. Greg suggested a vote should be taken on whether the resolution should go forward at all before the committee does any further work. Alison said we could make a suggestion to the new Director of Human Resources as an option besides a resolution. Ruby said another option would be to make statements about concerns over base pay and high administrator salaries when meeting with the President without saying "you got a 7.5 and I didn't like it because your supplement is more than some people make in a year." We might be able to lay some groundwork and state there has been concern because of articles in the paper. She said we could say the C&P Committee is looking into what the base salaries are with different institutions and she didn't think there would be a problem in discussing that.
Annette Hatton said she thought we were underestimating President Adams and he is up to whatever we give him and however we give it to him without being offended, especially if we provide a context to show where staff is coming from. We have traditionally been mistreated: we have had our measly pay raises withdrawn and faculty's kept; we've had this two-month delay in getting our raises; health insurance is going up; ad nauseam. She reiterated Dr. Adams would understand we're not attacking him. She said it is important that Staff Council shows that we do have the guts to say what we want and it would be much firmer in the form of a resolution than if it were taken up on an informal agenda. Ruby said we need to do more homework. Annette responded the background information she provided could be attached to a resolution. Clyde said one thing we might need to be prepared for as a staff is that, when we compare with other schools, the comparisons may not turn out the way we think it will. Annette said our efforts should go into a resolution that makes sense and gives the figures. Several people agreed the dollar amount of the raise is of more concern than the percentage.
Victor said one of his goals as liaison is for Staff Council to be successful and one is to be honest. He said the president's office gets lots of resolutions and letters and they don't go anywhere because of the way they're presented. Since President Adams has already said he knows a study is important, Victor suggested that we acknowledge that fact and start with a positive statement.
Frances said the things Annette mentioned were above Dr. Adams in the decision making process; the percentages and the delay came from the legislature, the insurance increase came from the Board of Regents. There are some things that even he can't do. He can try to help us with the legislature and regents, but he can't change everything.
Annette Hatton moved that Draft 2 go back to committee for revision; it was seconded. Art moved that the committee start from scratch. Ruby asked if she could amend Annette's motion by saying "resolutions regarding pay equity" to include both drafts. Annette agreed to the amendment. The amended motion was seconded. Frances asked for clarification and whether a no vote would enable a later resolution to do away with the pay raise resolution but a yes vote would send the pay raise resolution back to committee. Stephanie agreed that was correct. In a show of hands, counted twice, the motion failed.
Annette Ferguson moved that the C&P Committee draft a new document addressing pay raise equity to be brought back to the council for review; it was seconded. Billy asked to amend the motion that the document be addressed to Dr. Adams and appeal to him as president and a human. Stephanie suggested that could be addressed in a cover letter or the amendment could be worded to say the resolution should be diplomatic. Billy withdrew the amendment. Leisa asked whether this would be pay equity in general; it was agreed that was so. Jim asked whether it would drop mention of the chancellor and president. Art agreed it would and suggested it could come up with prospective solutions. Darlene asked if there could be backup information comparing salary information at different colleges. Art replied the committee would go into it, but the document would not necessarily be back next month. Sarah asked whether the focus is on pay raise equity or salaries. Stephanie said the motion is pay raise equity. In a show of hands, the motion carried. Stephanie gave Art the suggestions and documentation from Annette Hatton. Elizabeth said she thought Ruby had a good point about bringing up the issue in person. Ruby said classification review had been discussed with President Adams in the past. She added she attended the last C&P Committee meeting and only three committee members and two others were there. She urged that people help with the committee's work. Stephanie reiterated the importance of working on issues in committees so they can be presented in finished form. Sally noted any staff member can attend committee meetings.
Ruby reported the Bylaws Committee had planned to meet Monday but rescheduled for next week because several people were out of town. The Sexual Harassment Task Force forwarded its findings to deans and department heads, after three years of work.
Stephanie reminded committee chairs not to schedule meetings that overlap Executive Committee meetings and provided schedules of those meetings. She asked to meet with chairs to discuss committee agendas. Mary Cash was warmly welcomed back to serve another year as Parliamentarian. Stephanie is working on information packets for new representatives that outline responsibilities and expectations. Packets will include a committee list, an organization chart, bylaws, and a brief outline of parliamentary procedures. She expects to send the packets within the next month.
Stephanie distributed a memo with attached write-ups on people interested in serving on the Columns Forum Committee and the Exit Procedures Committee. The term of office for the Forum Committee is three years; the Exit Procedures Committee term will end when procedures are in place. Brenda Keen was appointed to the Forum Committee. The two slots for the Exit Procedures Committee will be filled by LaBau Bryan and Margot Peter.
Clyde asked if Stephanie wanted to address the question on life insurance that arose in the last meeting. She said that information was included in the memo she sent to committee chairs. It was suggested that someone from Staff Benefits speak to the council. Clyde pointed out it is clearly explained in the group life insurance handbook what must be done to convert the insurance.
Robyn Ansley quoted the bottom of the second draft resolution that proposed "that an ad hoc committee be appointed to review and monitor University System of Georgia Board of Regents and legislative policies, recommendations, and initiatives that might affect the equitable distribution of salary increase funding to University of Georgia staff." She asked if it could be sent forward as a resolution by itself. Clyde said there's been a misconception underneath a lot of the discussion that has gone on. Staff Council is chartered as an advisory body to the President. We do not ask the President to appoint an ad hoc committee; we simply do it if we want to. He agreed it's a good idea, it just shouldn't be in a resolution to the President. Annette Hatton said it is currently proposed to amend the bylaws to include a standing committee to monitor legislators; presumably that would include pay issues, but perhaps we need an ad hoc committee until such a standing committee is in place. Stephanie agreed it is a good idea.
The meeting adjourned at 3:25. The next meeting will be Wednesday, October 7, 1998 at 2:00 in Room R of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Submitted by Brenda Keen, Secretary