The union (of library workers) has not requested extra pay to get us through the transition to Workday as The Herald says ("Library workers unhappy with payroll shift," March 22). We are simply asking to be paid the same annual amount we would receive under the current system. Under Workday, a financial and benefit management program, employees will receive 12 paychecks through the end of 2012, the same number we would have received under the current system.
However, because our pay will be based on a 26-paycheck year, there will be less in each paycheck. On December 31, employees who make $40,000 will have received about $1,300 less than they would have under the current system. The union proposed that the University pay us the amount we currently receive in each paycheck through the end of 2012 - moving to the 26-paycheck amount in 2013 - so we won't have to play catch-up at a time of year when many have even more expenses. This proposal was rejected.
The University is offering to loan us one week's salary to get through the three week transition time when we'll receive no paycheck. We can repay the loan with automatic withdrawals over the next seven paychecks. If employees were to take this offer, however, not only would our remaining 12 paychecks be reduced because they are based on 26 paychecks per year rather than 24, but the first seven would be even further reduced because we would be paying back loans from the University. In fact, the University is offering to loan us money that we would have received as pay under the current system. On December 31, we will still come up short, and it will take several years for us to come out relatively even again.
There are possibly other effects, like our retirement contribution and yield, that we have only begun to analyze. Have University Human Resources administrators taken the time to analyze these themselves? If they have, it would be right for them to share the full analysis with all affected employees.
Marie Malchodi
Library Associate Specialist
