Layoffs at the UTHSC

Dear Drs. Simek and Schwab,

I am writing in regards to the Reductions in Force that have begun this week at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. I represent more than 1,100 public higher education employees across the state, including well over a hundred in the Memphis area.

We are deeply disturbed that these layoffs are going ahead despite the fact that federal stimulus monies designed to save jobs are available for nearly another year, and despite the Jobs bill signed this week by President Obama that sends money to states, including Tennessee, specifically to help save public-sector jobs, including those in education.

We are further disturbed by the mixed message being sent in hiring a new Chancellor at $550,000 per year while laying off hardworking, dedicated employees, many of whom barely earn $25,000 per year and who have not received even a modest raise in more than three years.

We are demanding fairness and consideration of those laid off in the severance packages they have been offered.

As we understand the facts, RIFed employees will only receive severance pay equal to the wages they would have earned through September 30, 2010, a date which cuts them out of any possible bonus money from the state should it go out.  There are no current plans on the administration’s part to provide either severance equal to what other state employees have received during recent layoffs or an extension of education benefits via tuition credits. It is ironic that other state employees get tuition credits but those who have dedicated years to higher education are offered none.

Our demands boil down to basic fairness and humanity:

1.      No additional layoffs.

2.      Recall rights, where laid off workers receive priority hiring for any positions that come open at UTHSC, and/or placement of RIFed workers into currently open UTHSC positions.

3.      Adequate severance pay equal to that provided by statute to other state workers.

4.      Tuition credits equal to a two-year extension of the current education benefits offered by UTHSC.

5.      Full disclosure of how these layoffs were conducted to verify that no irregularities or discrimination based on gender, race, or age took place.

Accepting these fair and just demands is the least you can do if you insist on continuing with these layoffs. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.

Sincerely,

Thomas Anderson
President
United Campus Workers - Communications Workers of America Local 3865
1124 N. Broadway
Knoxville, TN 37917
UCW Office: 865-329-0085
Mobile: 865-934-7373

cc:Congressman Steve Cohen, U. S. Rep, District 9
The Honorable Barbara Cooper, Rep. District 86
The Honorable John DeBerry, Rep. District 90
The Honorable Roy Herron, Sen. District 24
The Honorable Ulysses Jones, Jr., Rep. District 98