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Clemson University staff to be required to take unpaid 5-day leave
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CLEMSON UNIVERSITY — Clemson faculty and staff will be required to take five days off without pay to help meet state budget cuts, the university announced on Monday.
The announcement also included plans to offer early retirement for some employees in the university’s Public Service Activities, which includes the extension service; freeze hiring; cut “non-essential” temporary positions and eliminate unneeded travel, according to a statement.
Also, the university said it would receive “direct contributions of funding from athletics, housing and other auxiliary programs.”
The furlough will save $5 million this fiscal year, said Cathy Sams, a spokeswoman for the university.
Twelve-month employees must take the five days between Dec. 1 and June 30, 2009, Sams said. Nine-month employees must take the time between Dec. 1 and May 16. A law passed by the General Assembly allows institutions to require furloughs as long as they are across the board, Sams said.
“We are looking at these furloughs as one-time only,” Sams said. “We have to develop other strategies for replacing those dollars on a permanent basis.”
Clemson, like most state-supported universities in South Carolina, is grappling with budget cuts ordered by the state after tax revenues fell nearly $500 million short of expectations. The General Assembly recently signed off on a nearly 15 percent cut that brought the Clemson state budget reductions to $25 million this fiscal year, Sams said.
Sams said figures on how much savings will come from the early retirement packages were not yet available.
The latest round of cuts will pare $16 million from the university’s budget, she said.
President Jim Barker said the school also will halt construction on its planned Academic Success Center, and delay an innovation center and a life sciences building. Also, an information-technology facility and campus redevelopment project are deferred indefinitely.
“… We had implemented substantial internal reallocations earlier this year to hold down tuition, which left us with few options to handle a cut of this magnitude,” Barker said.
Sams said delay of those projects will save the school about $4 million this fiscal year.
Long-term plans may include consolidating programs, restructuring to cut administrative costs, making some programs self-supporting, and increasing revenues from summer school, camps and conferences, according to a statement.
The university also will be seeking money from its academic, housing and other programs, she said.
The total amount would be $2 million to $3 million, Sams said.
“We are looking to see if there’s an opportunity … if they could help contribute to the shortfall,” she said. “It’s not a huge chunk of the $25 million cut, but enough to avoid additional days of furlough.”
The money does not come from IPTAY contributions, she said.
Faculty Senate Secretary Linda Howe said the furlough amounts to a 2.5 percent cut in pay, more than negating the 1 percent raise that was recently negotiated.
"I understand the president and board have to make decisions to keep us working through all of this," Howe said. "My concern really is for the people getting paid far, far less than I am. The lowest paid will get hit the hardest, like it is everywhere."
Howe expects discussion of the budget cuts during Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.
In an email to faculty and staff, Barker listed a Web site that provides a video and more information. It is: www.clemson.edu/president/budget.
Reporter Mike Ellis also contributed to this story.
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Too bad we can't force Gov. Sanford, state lawmakers and highly paid department heads to take a 5-day furlough. Maybe the GOP legislators could vote to work without salaries - no wait, that would never happen. Makes a lot more sense to punish college students.
Or, big leap here, we could kick all of the non-contributing illegal aliens out of the state and keep the money we spend on them in various other state/federal funded programs. I would personally rather that happen as I am a tax-paying citizen, a parent, a small business owner, a graduate-level college student (who has to pay their own tuition), and did sell real estate before the liberals and greedy mortgage companies pushed house payments on people who couldn't afford them and ruined the market for the rest of the country.
The ruling doesn't say that the days must be consecutive, it just says 5 days unpaid between December and the end of next June. The students will not suffer, the fac/staff could cut one day a month until then and no one but the state budget would even really be effected. The kids could use the extra day for studying or lab time which is what they are supposed to be doing anyway. The faculty can just have online labs and let that count for a class. No one suffers. There, now that is fixed and there is no noticable suffering. :)
For faculty, it's simply a 2.5 percent salary cut. The "furlough" part is a joke... we cant just take vacation. There is research we have to do if we want to succeed professionally.
This state needs to get over its collective low self-esteem regarding higher education (we all want our kids to go to college, then when they do, we think THEY think they're better than us -- this is a REAL attitude to learning in this state, and I say this as a born and bred), and the "leaders" of this state need to realize that higher EDUCATION is PART of the education system of the state, one that drives economic development and can keep the most talented engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors, educators and other leaders in state and MUST be considered and funded just as every other part of education is in SC, which, BTW, is still not enough for that part either.
most students don't attend classes on friday.
the staff could use a friday as their day off,
one friday per month.if a staff member is making
$100,000.00 a year, a 2.5% deduction is $250.00.
the employee isn't going to really miss $250.00 of $100,000.00.there's ALOT of people nationally being laid off & taking a much bigger hit than 2.5% decreases in salary.staff, be thankful you still have a job.
Maybe we need those Friday classes. 2.5% of $100k is $2,500, not $250.
in response to dadof5
Tell my children how a cut of $450 in my pay will not contribute to any noticeable suffering in my household? The days don't have to be taken consecutively, but the pay is reduced from EVERY pay check. This is regressive and hurts those of us getting paid the least more than anyone else.
in response to redrider2k5
I want to know what STAFF member is making $100,000? Try more like $24,000 a year. 2.5% of 24,000 is $600. Are you a product of a Clemson education because that would really go a long way in justifying why higher ed should not be cut? 2.5% of $100,000 is $2,500 not $250. How thankful should one be for their job? If I were laid off, I could collect unemployment AND find a better paying job. As it is, I have to take the pay cut and the harm it does to my family while working AND looking for a better paying job.
I'm glad they are able to save 5 million by cutting teachers salaries and essential services. Now they are able to pay Tommy Bowden his millions for not working.
What an incredibly stupid scenario!
Concerned Citizen, take a moment to go to http://www.thestate.com and look at the salary database. You can sort the data base by Clemson Univ. There is a much larger percentage of staff making over 100k than you would want to know. Another thing is a lot of non teaching staff somehow manage to get classified as lecturers, research associates, etc. so that on paper they appear to be teaching faculty.
As far as the furlough, no one wants to loose money but 5 unpaid days is really not that bad compared to alternatives. A popular rumor floating around campus was that there would be a 20% pay cut for all non-teaching staff and mandatory 4 day work weeks. This bothers me for 2 reasons.. 1) it only affects non teaching staff when a lot of salary is tied up in teaching staff and non teaching staff coded as teaching staff. 2) a 20% pay cut is more substantial than a few days off without pay, and who knows if there had been a pay cut if and when we would have ever gotten the money back.
Finally, I know some would like the flexibility of picking a day and choosing not to get paid. However, by deducting equal amount across the remaining pay periods this fiscal year, you still loose the same amount of money but in smaller chunks than taking 1,2 or even 5 unpaid days all at once.
I don't like the situation but I think it turned out as well as it could.
in response to ConcernedCitizen25
thanks for the corrections.i graduated from mc duffie.
in response to unregistered
I don't know what college you work in, but in our college, the "staff" aren't making $100,000. Are you by chance classifying the administrators (deans who have PhDs) as staff rather than faculty? I can't find the database you reference on the above hyperlink. In our college, lecturers have to (by definition) lecture which classifies them as faculty.
Are you familiar with the concept of regressive taxation? The mandatory furloughs amount to a regressive tax. It causes greater strain to the lowest paid employees.
Whether the money comes out in one chunk or many, it still the same reduction in pay and the same hit on one's financial situation.
I know it sounds "fair" to make the cuts across the board, but no one considers it "unfair" when faculty get pay raises based on merit and the staff only get a yearly COLA raise. The state mandates staff wages based on position, not skill, yet faculty can negotiate higher pay based on skill. This unequitable policy isn't considered "unfair" when it benefits the faculty. It shouldn't be considered "unfair" for the faculty to bear the brunt of the budget cuts either.
Everyone takes a job because the benefits outweigh the deficits. No job is perfect; however, when comparable job duties are paid better at another job, it shifts the balance of benefits and deficits. Clemson is going to find that it will lose its hardworking, knowledgeable staff who, let's face it, actually KNOW how to run the University, because those people no longer have the incentive (reasonable pay) to remain in their jobs.
This solution is the wrong one.
Here is the state salary link for everyone.
http://salaries.thestateonline.com/in...
in response to DickRambone
Also remember, any salary below $50,000 is not listed in the database.
The fix is easier than this, yet no one wants to take that bold first step to address the issue head-on. Ask yourself this:
Why does South Carolina fund so many institutions of higher education?
Read: http://www.fitsnews.com/2008/10/19/th...
Now, after you come back from FITSNews, ask this question and see if it is not rational in thought:
What is keeping the State of South Carolina from de-funding higher education beyond one 4-year school and one 2-year/trade school per region of the state (region being upstate, midlands, and lowcountry)?
Ponder that one for a while . . .
- SSHM
in response to unregistered
I reviewed the salary database. I see some "administrative coordinators" in the 50K range, but not ONE staff person over 100K - only faculty. There is a distinct difference between "staff" and "faculty" at the university. The terms are not interchangeable.
A hint for everyone looking over the salary database. Unless it says "professor" or "chair", those people aren't really in the classroom or doing research. It's a fair approximation to say that none of those "lecturers" making over 100k are lecturers in the normal sense of the word. Those are administrators.
Good thing I just checked Clemson's website! The news is stating a 2.5% pay reduction. This is the amount of pay 9 month faculty will have reduced. This does not include staff. Staff will see a 3.3% pay reduction instead. Good to see that the "little people" will make the biggest sacrifices!
SSladler you are 100% correct, that is what I was trying to express in my earlier post. In my department at CU (service, not a teaching department) a good chunk of the upper management are classified as Research Associates etc.
No pay cut - just another 5 days off - WITH pay. There is no such thing as a reduction in pay with classified and unclassified faculty & staff.... Just hide and watch - so many of the employees don't actually spend a full day - AT THEIR OFFICE - so, the question is "How would you know when they aren't working??"
in response to jack
It was the liberal attitude of letting unqualified buyers purchase overinflated (false appraisal) properties. The loan qualification processes were liberal, the high end cap was liberal, and people doing whatever they can to keep up with the Joneses caused this problem. To answer your question, no, we actually knew not to use the upper cap of our qualifying amount. We qualified for around 375K, we spent about 112K. We did a budget and figured out how much money we would need monthly and set a cap on our payment ourselves. We saw what was happening and worried that if any part of the economy suffered, we wouldn't make as much money in our business.
I honestly feel really bad for the people who were mislead by the "professionals", and know quite a few who have either lost their homes or are struggling not to.
In answer to another of your questions, as a small business owner, I am not a stranger to losing a week's pay because of people not paying us. The only way to get the payment is to hire a collection agency (too pricey) or to go to court (too pricey and time consuming).
Another point I was trying to make is that the first person to make a comment said something along the lines of this move makes the students suffer. The students won't suffer from this move. Please read about the online labs (or, oh my gosh, paper ones and count that time as class time).
A point was made that a 2.5% pay cut would be horrible, I think so too, but you are supposed to save more than 5% per year, so if we all went by that guideline there would be a nest egg to fall back on, but then, people live way too far beyond their means due to listening to someone else about what they can afford when they should claim responsiblility for themselves. I am not trying to offend anyone, but the situation at Clemson is not as bad as it seems, unfortunate, but at least most of the employees can keep their jobs.
in response to unregistered
I agree it could be a lot worse, just ask the textile and other former manufacturing workers, and yeah, I used to be one.
An administrative specialist at Clemson makes approximately $24,000. Mandatory deductions (Social Security, Medicare, FICA, and state retirement) eat up a little more than 12% of this. For argument's sake, let's call it 12%. This equals $21,120. For health insurance for ONLY the employee, the employee must deduct another $1800 from pay. This leaves $19,320. From this, deduct $600 as a 2.5% pay loss (or five days of pay). This leaves the employee at $18,720. There are no deductions for income taxes and a few miscellaneous deductions for parking (yes, we have to pay simply to come to work!) and life insurance that we won't account for, so that leaves us at a real income of $18,720 a year before taxes. The poverty threshold as established by federal government for a family of 3 is $17,701. That leaves our administrative specialist who works at Clemson at $1019 above POVERTY level. This is ridiculous! Why don't they take off about 7 more days of pay so that employee can collect food stamps, AFDC, and Medicaid while working as a full time state employee. I think too many people are underestimating the impact of this loss to the lesser paid employees.
The company I work for has already given us several weeks off without pay this year. So I find it very difficult to feel sorry for them.
in response to lindapc42
I found lindapc42's comments to be both offensive and demoralizing for those of us here at Clemson. I would also invite her to spend a day with me at work - please plan on being here by 7:30 AM, wear comfortable shoes because you will be standing in a teaching lab for 6 hours, and don't plan on going home before about 5:30. Oh, and I'm not one of those "high paid" people many seem to think populate Clemson - there are actually not too many of those. I've been here over 20 years and do not make anywhere near $50K. By the way, I have not heard a single person in my department complain about the furlough - we are all part of the Clemson family and we are all in this together.
Looks like Claude C. Lilly could afford it! Thanks for the link, DickRampbone. Seriously, I hurt for those individuals who will be hurt by this financial crunch, however, I agree it could be worse. Be thankful you still have jobs!
It's about time the liberals in their ivory towers feel the affect of their socialist agendas, i.e. NAFTA, GATT and free trade. What makes them immune. I say force the professors to teach 4-5 classes a day, instead of 1-2 a week. This will reduce the staff giving the remaining professors more job security. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Clemson has stopped all "non-essential" travel for its employees, meaning professors who are conducting research or presenting findings are not allowed to travel to research sites or conferences. Clemson has also stopped all searches, so vacant teaching positions are required to remain vacant. Too bad this attitude doesn't apply to the football program! Good to see that getting a new football coach is an "essential" travel expense for the University.
in response to ConcernedCitizen25
Considering the amount of revenue that football brings to the university I would say that getting a top flight coach to make the program top flight IS essential.
Like I said in an earlier post....the plant I work at has been rotating shifts off since the beginning of the year. At least they're only talking one week for you all. I've had 4. So stop whining and take your medicine like the rest of us.
in response to goat34
Except that the football revenue is reserved for the athletic department. It would be different if that money were allowed to be used to fund academics, but it isn't. Coincidentally, I believe TUITION brings in a lot more, so why not fund professors with that? Because the state deems tuition money as their own, yet athletic money is protected foundation money.
The difference between your employer and mine is that MY employer is generating the same or more money than it has in the past, yet the state takes that money back and refuses to fund it as it did the previous year, even though we are an agency of the state. Let's say your plant makes $1,000,000 this year but only $750,000 for last year. It would be equivalent to the state taxing it an extra $250,000 this year or your parent company saying that you made enough money this year, we're taking that money from you and giving it to this other plant down the street and making you take off work because now your plant can't afford to pay for you. It's an apples and oranges equation.
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