About 500 people attended the July 9 staff forum on the budget situation and related human resources questions, and Media Works logged nearly 2,000 "requests" from computer users who clicked open the live Webcast.
Now, the Webcast is available online for viewing at any time:
Media Works reported 1,873 "requests" for the live Webcast, and an average viewing time of just over an hour and a half during the 2 1/2-hour forum.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia opened the forum in Freeborn Hall, and, while he did not know at the time what President Mark G. Yudof would be recommending for employee furloughs and pay cuts, he noted how the Office of the President had been receptive to employees' concerns.
For example, employees at UC Davis and elsewhere around the UC system clamored for a graduated scale of furloughs and pay cuts, so that people earning less would take less of a hit, instead of assigning everyone an 8 percent cut (or 4 percent for people earning less than $46,000).
Also, employees spoke out against the possibility of furlough days being assigned on what normally would be paid holidays. Instead, employees said, they would rather see furlough days translate into extra days off — and for flexibility on when such days off would be taken.
When Yudof's recommendations came out this morning (July 10), employees learned that he had indeed listened — proposing to cut wages based on seven income brackets. Each bracket would be assigned a percentage cut, from 4 percent to 10 percent, and each percentage would translate into a different number of furlough days. In addition, employees and campuses would have flexibility in deciding when furlough days would be taken.
Therefore, the value of your furlough time would equal the amount of money you would normally receive if you had worked those days.
The brackets:
• $40,000 or less (11 furlough days)
• $40,001-46,000 (13 furlough days)
• $46.001-60,000 (16 furlough days)
• $60,001-90,000 (18 furlough days)
• $90,001-180,000 (21 furlough days)
• $180,001-$240,000 (24 furlough days)
• More than $240,000 (26 furlough days)
"Your engagement and feedback is making a difference," Lavernia said.
The forum then turned to such topics as layoffs and preferential rehiring, and campus efforts to place laid-off employees in other positions; the Voluntary Separation Program and the time-reduction program; counseling services to help employees and their families deal with anxiety and stress; and mediation services to help ease tension in the workplace.
On the Net
UC Office of the President budget news (including President Yudof's letter and video message to the campus community)
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu