RJ story on classified employees

The RJ ran an excellent story this morning on the hardships faced by UNLV classified staff as a result of the 4.6% pay cut.

However, there is a glaring error in the subhead in the story. It is simply not accurate that only classified employees were impacted by the pay cut or that faculty were not impacted.

All employees at every level were impacted. The professional staff, untenured faculty, and administration all took a 4.6% pay cut in hard dollars; for tenured faculty, because of the requirements of the System Code, were required to carry an extra course or students without additional compensation to generate the financial equivalent to 4.6% savings for the university.

In fact, from the standpoint of the state budget, the cut administered in June 2009 was 4.6% of the entire salary pool of all classified and professional employees.

Even if one were to consider an additional workload not to be the financial equivalent of a pay cut -- which data being compiled by the Provost's office will show in fact it is -- one would still have to admit that the savings for the state has been the same.

And the sacrifice has been shared on the part of the entire faculty. Indeed, faculty leadership including the NFA has opposed, publicly, proposals made to the Board of Regents to exempt certain categories of faculty -- precisely on the basis of shared sacrifice, fairness and general morale.

We will continue to do so, and we trust that RJ reporter Richard Lake -- one of the best reporters and writers on that staff -- will get it right in future stories.