Seeking equal pay, WSU employees petition Floyd

WSU+Classified+Staff+members+of+the+Washington+Federation+of+State+Employees+deliver+a+petition+to+President+Floyd+asking+for+fairness+in+pay+in+the+French+Administration+building%2C+Friday%2C+Oct.+25.

WSU Classified Staff members of the Washington Federation of State Employees deliver a petition to President Floyd asking for fairness in pay in the French Administration building, Friday, Oct. 25.

Zack Briggs Evergreen reporter

They clean classrooms, prepare students’ meals and fix administrators’ computers, but WSU’s Classified Staff has not received salary increases from the university since 2008.

Roger Eberhardt, one of more than 2,000 Classified Staff at WSU and member of the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), said it’s time to bring awareness to what they see as unfair pay policies at the university.

Seven WSU Classified employees, a part of the WFSE, delivered more than 200 petition signatures from university employees, alumni and community members to President Elson S. Floyd’s office Friday afternoon, asking for equality in university-wide pay increases.

Eberhardt, who also serves as steward for Bargaining Unit 13 within the Facilities Operations Department, said the inequity in pay increases compared to what other WSU employees receive affects him on a personal level.

“To me it’s a slap in the face because you don’t feel like you’re appreciated for the hard work that you do here,” he said.

While the University of Washington allocated local funds to provide its Classified Staff with a 4 percent increase for the coming two years, civil service employees at WSU have not been granted such an increase. The members of WFSE argue that WSU has the option to model UW by allocating local funds toward around-the-board increases for Classified Staff.

Floyd said faculty and staff salaries are the highest priority for WSU’s success in his “Perspectives” blog on July 24.

“Outside of step increases for civil service employees, faculty and administrative professional staff have gone without any salary adjustment since 2008,” according to Floyd’s blog.

Floyd established an $11 million dollar commitment with a 4 percent around-the-board increase for faculty and administrative professional (AP) staff, but not civil service employees, effective Jan. 1, 2014.

“All we got is the step increase,” Eberhardt said.

The step increases are pay escalations that employees receive over a period of time until they reach the highest step or ‘top out.’

Floyd stated in his blog that “civil service salaries are established and managed at the state level.”

He noted that Classified Staff continued to receive raises during the university salary freeze with step increases of 2.5 to 5 percent.

More than 500 eligible civil service staff received a 2.5 Step M increase in July, which was implemented by the Office of the State Human Resource Director for the 2013-2015 biennial operational budget.

Employees who have been topped out (Step L) and held the same salary range for at least five years were eligible for the Step M increase.

Rod Palmquist, WFSE Higher Education Coordinator, said he does not see a reason for step increases to substitute for around-the-board pay raises.

“The fact that the administration is claiming that step increases somehow make up for not receiving equitable across-the-board increases like faculty and administrators is therefore misleading,” he said.

Even with the opportunity for a 2.5 percent step increase for eligible civil service staff, Palmquist noted the possibility of a delay, similar to a legislative delay in implementing new policy.

“The only staff who will receive a 2.5 percent by being added to the new top Step M will be those employees who have previously been on the former top Step L for five years,” Palmquist said.

Eric Needham, a supervisor at Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe, said it is important that the voices of WSU’s Classified Staff are heard just as clearly as those of faculty and AP staff who have been granted the 4 percent around-the-board pay raise.  

“We haven’t had raises in six years, and in that time minimum wage has gone up quite substantially,” Needham said. “Our gas and our products that we buy at grocery stores have really gone up.”

“I hope President Floyd takes us seriously and gives us the 4 percent raise that he has given the rest of the university,” he said.

A secretary within the Office of the President acknowledged the WFSE’s concern and will pass on their message to Floyd upon his return to WSU. A meeting is planned between university officials and Executive Director of WFSE Greg Devereux to discuss the matter at an as-yet undetermined date.