University Administrators Fight to Line Their Own Pockets
California Political Desk
August 28, 2009
SACRAMENTO – University of California and California State University administrators have killed a bill that would have limited executive pay raises during bad budget years.
Despite the fact that the Senate Appropriations Committee found no costs to the bill and the Assembly Appropriations Committee´s analysis estimated a significant cost-savings, the Assembly Appropriations Committee today held the bill on their suspense file without allowing a vote. Normally, the suspense file is used to kill bills that have a significant cost to the state.
SB 217, authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), overwhelmingly passed the Senate in May on a 35-3 bipartisan vote.
"These administrations lack a moral compass," said Yee. "It is unconscionable that CSU and UC lobbyists would argue that a freeze on executive pay costs the universities a dime. It is disheartening that university executives are more concerned with lining their own pockets, than protecting the needs of students, faculty, and taxpayers."
UC and CSU administrators argued that the bill would cost millions of dollars. However, they used the complete opposite argument to push furloughs for lower wage workers as a cost-savings measure.
"We are deeply disappointed that during a period when students are being denied access, classes are being cut, and employees are being furloughed, the top priority of university administrators is protecting their own salary hikes," said Lillian Taiz, President of the California Faculty Association, which represents CSU faculty.
"Taxpayers ought to be outraged at the Assembly Appropriations Committee for failing to save the State of California countless tax dollars in excessive Wall Street-style pay raises for UC executives and top bureaucrats," said Lakesha Harrison, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME 3299), which represents over 20,000 UC workers. "These extravagant raises are being paid for by student fee increases and laid-off professors and workers, while UC executives continue to raid the public treasury."
In 2009 alone, the UC Board of Regents has already approved approximately $9 million in executive compensation increases.
At the last Regents meeting in July, several executives were appointed at salaries from 11 percent to 59 percent higher than their predecessors. The Regents also voted to give "administrative stipends" ranging from $24,000 to $58,625 to several employees, without any extra duties, and added several new highly paid executive positions.
All told, the Regents approved nearly $2 million in monetary compensation increases at just one meeting. That is in addition to other forms of compensation including generous pension plans, travel allowances, housing, and access to low-interest loans. UC President Mark Yudof also receives nearly a $1 million in salaries and perks.
Since 2002, top administrators at CSU have also received raises in excess of 23 percent.
"The same argument that the UC and CSU makes to furlough their rank-and-file employees should also apply to people who make hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Yee. "They are committed to going down the same egregious path as AIG and other Wall Street corporations by providing for their top executives and hurting everyone else."
In addition to AFSCME and the California Faculty Association, SB 217 was supported by the University of California Student Association, California Nurses Association, Associated Students of UC Davis, State Employees´ Trades Council, and the California State Employees Association, among others.
Despite the fact that the Senate Appropriations Committee found no costs to the bill and the Assembly Appropriations Committee´s analysis estimated a significant cost-savings, the Assembly Appropriations Committee today held the bill on their suspense file without allowing a vote. Normally, the suspense file is used to kill bills that have a significant cost to the state.
SB 217, authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), overwhelmingly passed the Senate in May on a 35-3 bipartisan vote.
"These administrations lack a moral compass," said Yee. "It is unconscionable that CSU and UC lobbyists would argue that a freeze on executive pay costs the universities a dime. It is disheartening that university executives are more concerned with lining their own pockets, than protecting the needs of students, faculty, and taxpayers."
UC and CSU administrators argued that the bill would cost millions of dollars. However, they used the complete opposite argument to push furloughs for lower wage workers as a cost-savings measure.
"We are deeply disappointed that during a period when students are being denied access, classes are being cut, and employees are being furloughed, the top priority of university administrators is protecting their own salary hikes," said Lillian Taiz, President of the California Faculty Association, which represents CSU faculty.
"Taxpayers ought to be outraged at the Assembly Appropriations Committee for failing to save the State of California countless tax dollars in excessive Wall Street-style pay raises for UC executives and top bureaucrats," said Lakesha Harrison, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME 3299), which represents over 20,000 UC workers. "These extravagant raises are being paid for by student fee increases and laid-off professors and workers, while UC executives continue to raid the public treasury."
In 2009 alone, the UC Board of Regents has already approved approximately $9 million in executive compensation increases.
At the last Regents meeting in July, several executives were appointed at salaries from 11 percent to 59 percent higher than their predecessors. The Regents also voted to give "administrative stipends" ranging from $24,000 to $58,625 to several employees, without any extra duties, and added several new highly paid executive positions.
All told, the Regents approved nearly $2 million in monetary compensation increases at just one meeting. That is in addition to other forms of compensation including generous pension plans, travel allowances, housing, and access to low-interest loans. UC President Mark Yudof also receives nearly a $1 million in salaries and perks.
Since 2002, top administrators at CSU have also received raises in excess of 23 percent.
"The same argument that the UC and CSU makes to furlough their rank-and-file employees should also apply to people who make hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Yee. "They are committed to going down the same egregious path as AIG and other Wall Street corporations by providing for their top executives and hurting everyone else."
In addition to AFSCME and the California Faculty Association, SB 217 was supported by the University of California Student Association, California Nurses Association, Associated Students of UC Davis, State Employees´ Trades Council, and the California State Employees Association, among others.
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