Chancellor Drake presided, and Mark LeVine has posted these notes. Also see his valuable suggestions at the bottom for assembling budget information in one place. continue reading
take the warning seriously about a boomerang effect from faculty cancelling classes on our furlough days. the UC administration has deliberately put us in this box and weasled our endorsement of furlough days. if now turn and take the days off, it will be spun as privileged profs who "work" 2 days a week seeking a further reduction in work time.
there are other ways to accomplish the same end with less risk of boomerang: e.g., increasing class size, having our departments offer fewer classes, etc. All of these are ways to address budget shortfalls that will be palpable for students and their families.
The salary cut/furlough is only part of the budget crisis, only a chunk of the total reduction. We focus on our own salaries at our political peril. Better to focus on the issue of overall funding, and roll the refunding of our pay into that bigger issue.
take the warning seriously about a boomerang effect from faculty cancelling classes on our furlough days. the UC administration has deliberately put us in this box and weasled our endorsement of furlough days. if now turn and take the days off, it will be spun as privileged profs who "work" 2 days a week seeking a further reduction in work time.
ReplyDeletethere are other ways to accomplish the same end with less risk of boomerang: e.g., increasing class size, having our departments offer fewer classes, etc. All of these are ways to address budget shortfalls that will be palpable for students and their families.
The salary cut/furlough is only part of the budget crisis, only a chunk of the total reduction. We focus on our own salaries at our political peril. Better to focus on the issue of overall funding, and roll the refunding of our pay into that bigger issue.
We have to be smarter than they are.