Some staff should stop whining
The Staff Assembly is still relentlessly continuing its inappropriate monetary demands and refuses to consider TCU’s generosity during the recent economic troubles in mind.
COMMENTARY
Dave Mestemaker

The Staff Assembly is still relentlessly continuing its inappropriate monetary demands and refuses to consider TCU’s generosity during the recent economic troubles in mind.

I’ve been working at TCU for about two years. During that time, I’ve sort of followed the activities of the Staff Assembly, primarily via meeting minutes and Skiff articles. And until now, as hard as it has been at times, I’ve quietly kept my mouth shut as I’ve listened to and/or read comments from Staff Assembly representatives, especially as they relate to salaries and benefits for non-exempt university employees. But after reading the article on the front page of the Nov. 6 Skiff, I can no longer remain silent.

Even during my short tenure here I have witnessed Chancellor Michael Ferrari and other prominent members of this university go to extraordinary lengths to accommodate the Staff Assembly, especially in efforts to improve the quality of life for non-exempt employees. But it seems that no matter what the university does, it’s never enough, at least for certain Staff Assembly representatives. Never in my life have I heard so much whining or seen so much ungratefulness. It’s truly disgraceful and irresponsible.

Statements in the article like “It’s neither ethical nor responsible to pay wages that keep people working in poverty” are totally inappropriate, and serve as a slap in the face to the honest and sincere efforts of this university. But even more than that, where does it say that the university owes anyone here a living? Or that employees should be paid without regard for education, qualifications, experience, work ethic, etc? How many employees were forced to sign their employment agreements (where they agreed to accept a specific salary offered by the university) when they started working here?

Another comment in the article says, “If you work full time, whatever your job is (my emphasis), it’s essential that you should be able to support you and your family on one income.” Has anyone told McDonald’s (and every other organization that pays at or below the minimum salary) this revelation? And does that mean that if I have 10 kids, then I get paid that much more than the person working next to me with just one child? And what about the seemingly lost concept of personal responsibility? How about at least some level of accountability for personal decisions, or opportunities not taken advantage of, that place an employee in the position he/she is in today?

While I acknowledge that the Staff Assembly has probably done some nice things for the community in the name of the university, it remains extremely disappointing to read the kinds of comments from the Staff Assembly as expressed above. Again, they are reckless and unfair, as they do an injustice to the many positive efforts of this university on behalf of its employees. And for any who may still disagree with my assessment, just take a look around — you don’t have to look too far to find a sputtering economy that has been depressed for the past two years, with layoffs galore across the country.

In short, enough is enough. It’s time for the Staff Assembly to start being fair and realistic with the university. Stop labeling it as unethical (this isn’t the first time the Staff Assembly rep has applied that label); cease whining over salaries and benefits (which in total are very generous); and be thankful for all you have been given, not the least of which is continued employment during very tenuous times.

And if that can’t happen, and the Staff Assembly chooses to continue to push the narrow, self-serving position represented in the article, then I would go so far as to suggest that it be disbanded as an organization on-campus.

Guest columnist Dave Mestemaker is Director of Resources at the Physical Plant. He can be contacted at (d.mestamaker@tcu.edu).