University of Wisconsin - Parkside Classified Staff Committee Statement on the proposed Special Session Bill 11-Budget Repair Bill

Whereas, there are almost two hundred classified staff employees at UW-Parkside with approximately 90% union represented and 10% non-represented, and

Whereas, the UW-Parkside classified staff are willing to do our part to reduce state expenditures as evidenced by our high compliance on a voluntary basis with the current biennium’s furloughs which result in a 3% pay cut, and

Whereas, the Special Session Bill 11 will force classified staff employees to contribute 5.8% of their salaries to cover retirement contributions and more than double their health insurance contribution, and

Whereas, most of the classified staff employee salaries are already lower than those of comparable private sector positions, and

Whereas, many of the classified staff salaries are at the bottom of the pay scale causing a greater than average impact of these increases, and

Whereas, the Special Session Bill 11 will effectively remove all collective bargaining rights, and

Whereas, the Special Session Bill 11 will end over 50 years of labor-employer relations that has helped produce an outstanding and efficient workforce, and

Whereas, the classified staff at UW-Parkside stands in support of both the UW-Parkside faculty resolution and the UW-Parkside Academic Staff statement, and

Therefore be it resolved that the Classified Staff Committee of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside strongly opposes the Special Session Bill 11 and pledges that we will do everything in our power to inform our communities of the adverse effects that divestment in education will have on UW-Parkside students, employees, community members and the regional economy.