UCSB Faculty Fumes at Furloughs Forum

These professors think they have some divine right to permanent employment with ever increasing pay and the best benefits imaginable? AND they are supposed to teach our children? How about starting with training in economics for the professors?

John -

Clearly, you don't have a high opinion of the role of public education in this state. These budget cuts have little to do with the salaries of the professors themselves. These furloughs are a combined one-two punch, as the UC system is also raising tuition over 9%, with additional increase promised in January. Furloughing professors means fewer classes at a higher cost. And guess what, the furloughs and tuition hikes don't even solve the problem.

Incidentally, the UC has the money, they just don't want to spend it. They'd rather build buildings and higher administrators at inflated salaries.

If you have any concern for the type of education our young people are getting, you'll understand the damage this is doing to the UC system and not make flippant comments.

Displaying complete "transparency" is critical if the University is to get the public support it needs. As an alum and fervent supporter of UCSB, I think it's critical that the highly visible "coordinated campus-wide furlough days" approach be adopted. If these enforced cuts are actually terrible — and they are and they deeply affect the true mission of the University — the public needs to SEE the impact. If faculty choose the first furlough option then obviously they just go with the flow, blow any idealism about genuine teaching, and utilize the furloughs to ensure themselves of three and four-day free weekends. Or so it will seem to the already cynical public (e.g. John Locke's tone).
Prof. Snyder is correct that these "temporary" cuts will certainly become permanent, and they're likely to become much deeper: best to fight them hard HERE and NOW.
The most effective tactic then would be to “declare a general strike for the first week on campus” by concentrating this enforced non-work time at the most visible moment. Professors could demonstrate their own idealism — and this is questioned by a cynical public! — by holding off-campus class meetings dedicated to the stupidity of our State government's budgeting process, the venality of our politicians, but NOT going into their class curricula.
This entire mess does challenge the commitment of the faculty to teaching and to demonstrating the life of the mind. I wonder if you people are up to it?

Best benefits possible? The CA taxpayer has not contributed a cent to the UC retirement fund since 1990. Just about all other State employees have far better retirement benefits... the old 100% for 30 at 50 Davis put in, guaranteed by the taxpayer. UC is quite a bit less.

Well, if the UC pension fund were not in near bankruptcy, UC pension benefits would still be better than most in private industry. But the fact is the UC pension fund is about to fail, and current UC employees are looking at just their 401-k-type accounts as their only retirement $. JohnLocke should be crowing about how great the UC system is, actually, from his perspective.

Then there is the ever-increasing pay issue. In actual fact, UC salaries haven't had a concept of COLA since 1990 either, and have fallen (in real terms) by 10% since 1990, before the latest furlough stuff; the furlough takes the gap to 18%. JohnLocke again should be crowing about the deal the taxpayer gets.

At one time the Regents kept reminding faculty that their pensions were better than everyone elses, so the total compensation (salary + benefits) was still terrific. But that was before the pension fund was headed for belly up territory, and the State Legislative Analyst vacated any responsibility for UC pensions.

The average yearly funding brought in via highly competitive grants is $100K/faculty member. JohnLock should be congratulating faculty members on their entrepeneurial success.

There is only one ever-increasing aspect of UC compensation has been health care. Of course, what you (and all of us) actually get has plummeted, but the amazing inflation in health care costs has made it look like great compensation improvements have transpired. Oh boy.

It's not the economics, JohnLocke, it is that you make no effort to do basic fact-checking before mouthing off. Maybe you should save your fire for the wonderful Prison Guards union, which has given California the worst correctional system in the nation (measured by recidivism rate) for the highest price per prisoner in the nation.

Always rubs me the wrong way to know how much Chancellor Yang, UCOP, and high-level managers at the University get. Here's to a bounce back for the little and the middle people. Or, instead of merely hoping, how about we band together and bring down the big guys a few notches.

OK. Grab your pitchfork and torch and meet me outside the administration building at midnight.

"If faculty choose the first furlough option then obviously
they just go with the flow, blow any idealism about
genuine teaching, and utilize the furloughs to ensure
themselves of three and four-day free weekends"

Actually: I would pick my furlough days to be
on days when I am not scheduled to teach
a class.
This would minimize the impact on classroom education.
On those days I would still work on my research and (of
course) continue to advise my graduate students
and postdoctoral scholars. The few colleagues with
whom I discussed this issue would do the same.

A UCSB professor

that's great bpbp and I admire your approach, however, you act alone and have no impact on PUBLIC OPINION in our state. A unified general strike approach would have impact on California citizens. In fact, I see folks like boysandgirls and John Locke saying to you, "perfect, why weren't you always doing this? since you likely teach less than 8 hours a week we can see adding another 30 days of furlough for you and it still won't impact your teaching, and you love research and will do that all the same."
seriously, unless the university has some solidarity you will just get more cuts like Prof. Snyder has said.