| Coalition of University Employees (CUE) | 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite #302, Berkeley, CA 94705 Contact CUE (510) 845-2221 (phone), (510) 845-7444 (FAX) |
Although UC claims it is feeling the pinch of the state's financial crunch, the reality is much different ("UC May Be Greatly Affected By Proposed State Budget," Feb. 22, 2002) UC is not, as it leads people to believe, a mostly state-funded institution. In fact, it receives only a small percentage of its funds, about 22 percent, from the state of California. An independent economist, who has recently completed an extensive study of UC's finances, Dr. Peter Donohue, has pointed out that UC's alleged "hard times" simply reflect the fact that UC dollars are being diverted away from salaries and programs and into UC's unrestricted funds. This is a category that allows UC to spend money any way it wants.
Over the last decade, UC has been building staggering reserves. These unrestricted funds surpluses have tripled in the last 10 years, and have grown to over $2 billion. Just as we've seen the whistle blown on Enron's corporate dishonesty, it is imperative to shed the light of truth on the finances of the corporation that is the University of California.
While prudence dictates that UC keep a reserve for emergencies and other important necessities, letting staff, students, and junior faculty suffer through program cuts and below-market-rate salaries while UC amasses a colossal reservoir of discretionary cash is a distortion of priorities. The least well-compensated staff members at the university bear the greatest burden in this ongoing scam, as real wages for clerical and service staff continue to sink, year in and year out. Student fees rise and campus programs suffer. UC ensures that even if it claims to be in "hard times," there is no shortage of good times for top UC administrators, many of whom have been approved by the UC Board of Regents to have up to 25 percent wage increases doled out to them.
Is UC here to serve the educational needs of the young people of California or to build its reserves of capital? This great educational institution screams out for a change in priorities. A portion of UC's unrestricted reserves should be used at this time to pay staff, junior faculty, and lecturers a decent wage, reduce student fees to an affordable level, and retain full program funding.
Hilary FitzGerald-Nicholson
UC Berkeley staff
(See original letter on The Daily Cal's website. Must page down past first article to get to it!)