Staff, administration work to even, raise pay

By Jaime Walker
Senior News Editor

Despite staff concerns that their recent merit-based salary increase would be based on popularity rather than necessity, Chancellor Michael Ferrari said Thursday the $1 million discretionary portion of the increase will be distributed based on a complicated formula, designed to combat salary compression.

“That money was set aside so that Human Resources could individually evaluate each job on campus and figure out where the need was,” he said.

At its March meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a 3 percent raise for staff, not including the $1 million, and a 1 percent increase towards the retirement fund. All staff should receive a letter outlining the details increase on May 1.

“When you add it all up, the numbers actually turn out to be a little more than 4 1/2 percent, which is a marked improvement,” Ferrari said.

He said Human Resources needed time to determine how the money could be allocated fairly. Any misunderstanding or confusion about issues related to the increase should be addressed, but with the understanding that the time delay was not intended to mislead anyone.

Roger Ivy, a controls technician for Physical Plant, has worked at TCU for six years. He said he has been hearing rumors about how the money would be distributed and with each allegation his concerns about the total of his next paycheck mounted.

“I’m not sure what to believe and what not believe,” he said. “The staff was promised that our salaries would be increased about 20 percent over five years, so when I heard that we were only getting 3 percent for sure I was devastated.”

Ivy, who also works as the head coach of the rifle team, said he loves his job at TCU, but he would be willing to leave if he feels like his compensation in this raise is not adequate.

“I have done a lot of thinking about this issue, and I have heard a lot of promises about it too,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that our compression problems are really bad here. I know that, but I also know that I have a family to feed, and I can’t do that on 3 percent.”

Other sources in both the grounds crew and residential housekeeping have expressed similar concerns.

“We have all been worried that our supervisors would get to choose who the money went to,” one source said. “The problem with that is that in some of our jobs it’s very obvious there are personality conflicts between the bosses and us.

“We had already decided if that was how this increase was going to go down (then) we were going to walk. It’s about time the people who really keep TCU running stand up for themselves and show the administration that we won’t take no for an answer,” the source said. “We want equal pay with people who are getting hired now or we’ll just let the chancellor and (John) Roach water TCU’s lawn and fix its leaky faucets.”

Pat Jolley, director of compensation, said the policy is specifically designed to prevent favoritism or subjectivity of any kind.

“We took each job category, computed the average salary and then split the fund up so that each person who has been here three years or longer working a specific job could earn in the 94th percentile for that job,” she said.

Jolley said TCU employs about 575 nonexempt staff, employees who are paid by the hour and eligible for overtime, 350 exempt staff and 325 faculty members. Each of those three groups was allocated about one-third of the discretionary fund, she said.

“Each major job group received about $300,000,” she said. “Although we know compression may still be an issue, we believe this money is going to go a long way.

“I know it may not look like a lot, but you have to consider the market rates for each individual job. We wanted everyone in every field to feel like they were getting competitive wages in connection to TCU’s benefits.”

Some staff sources said TCU’s administration relies too heavily on its good benefit packages to keep its staff employed.

One administrative assistant said despite what her boss thinks, she is not loyal to TCU.

“I know he thinks I am here because I like my job,” she said. “I know he thinks I keep staying because I like to work with the kids and I love to go the football games. But truthfully, I’m waiting for the day I feel appreciated. On that day, I am going to quit.

“I am starting to resign to the fact that my paycheck will never match the work that I do because those people who make the important decisions have forgotten what it’s like to work from paycheck to paycheck.”

Ferrari said in his tenure as chancellor he has worked to improve salary equity and re-structure the system so that all TCU employees are paid appropriately.

He said when he started at TCU the faculty had 11 1/2 percent going into the retirement fund. Non-exempt staff only had 6 1/2 percent. Last year, staff retirement was increased to 8 1/2 percent, and this year it will be moved up to 9 1/2 percent.

“It’s a matter of principle and fairness,” he said. “We have to move toward parity.”

One housekeeper, who has been here 13 years, said she is pleased with the efforts TCU has made, but she just wants the administration to understand that what they see as effort isn’t always viewed that way.

“We are at the bottom rung, so to speak,” she said. “I believe (the administration) when they tell me that I am important. I get gifts from some of the students on Christmas. One of them in the building knows my birthday. You can’t find a work environment like this one anywhere. I know that.

“But then I look at my paycheck. And in that amount I see the words ‘I don’t care.’ I wouldn’t want to lose my job so I don’t fight.

Fighting means I won’t get any birthday presents. Fighting means I lose the one thing in my life that is worth something. I can’t lose all that value over the value of a dollar.”

Ferrari said he was shocked to hear staff members were preparing to quit without hearing the facts.

“If they have already made up their minds there is nothing I can do or say to fix that,” he said. “I was under the impression that the staff were feeling positively about the situation because I have gotten nothing but positive feedback.”

Ivy said the Staff Assembly, not even a two-year-old organization, has worked diligently to improve salaries and voice concerns on other issues. But it is still relatively new, so it doesn’t really have the voice it could have in the future.

“We are doing the best we can do with Staff Assembly,” he said. “We have a lot of potential, but not a lot of people from all the ranks. The voices could be louder than they are, but we are a fledgling group.”

Ivy said he wants administrators to know that the Staff Assembly is not the only means of hearing the concerns of the staff.

Whatever they do, whatever they pay, I want them to understand and acknowledge that this campus would not run without us. We are the heartbeat of it.”

Jaime Walker
j.l.walker@student.tcu.edu