Layoffs at the UT Health Science Center
During the week of August 9-13, 2010, 33 employees of the UT Health Science Center (UTHSC) were laid off. According to UTHSC Vice Chancellor Ken Brown, these cuts were part of the the UTHSC's plan to "decrease costs, increase efficiency, strategically reallocate resources and enhance revenue in order to reduce job cuts."(see Memphis Commercial Appeal)
These layoffs are occurring at the same time the UTHSC has hired 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.
Originally UTHSC administrators had planned layoffs of 200 staff in December 2008, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (see Memphis Commercial Appeal). Since then UCW-CWA has urged UT system and UTHSC administrators to use the stimulus funds to save these positions and not take this negative course.
The UTHSC has chosen not to use stimulus funds to save jobs and has instead chosen this very negative path, making it the only UT campus to do so.
These 33 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 the state may give.
In the past two years state employees and other higher education workers in Tennessee received severance packages that contained up to two years of tuition assistance and up to four months of salary, including other benefits (see Tennessee State Employee Buyout and MTSU buyout for details of these packages).
It is ironic that other state employees get tuition credits but UT employees who have dedicated years to higher education are offered none.
UCW-CWA calls on President Simek to rectify this situation by committing to the following:
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.
Send an email to President Simek, urging him to help rectify this situation! The below form allows you to send a message to him voicing your concerns on this matter! UTHSC Chancellor Steve Schwab will also receive a copy of your email. For more information, email smith@ucw-cwa.org or call 1-877-292-3865.