September 25, 2000 State funds raises for lower-paid university employees By Jennifer McNulty Many university employees will enjoy slightly bigger paychecks November 1, when a systemwide salary augmentation program kicks in. The University of California received a special one-time allotment of $19 million in the state budget to increase salaries of lower-paid employees. The augmentation, as well as regular annual merit increases for employees who are not represented by unions, takes effect October 1 and will appear in November paychecks. "This is good news," said Willeen McQuitta, director of staff human resources at UCSC. "The university is recognizing that lower-paid staff, particularly, deserve an across-the-board salary boost, in addition to the merit increases." Eligible employees who earn $40,000 or less will receive an additional 2 percent salary increase. Those who earn between $40,000 and $80,000 will receive a 1 percent salary increase. All nonrepresented clerical employees will receive a 2 percent salary increase, regardless of their current salary. These increases will be applied to salaries before annual merit increases are calculated. In addition, nonrepresented clerical staff who receive a performance rating of "met expectations" or better will receive an additional 1 percent after the merit process. Increases for union-represented employees must be negotiated before they can be implemented, and talks are under way between the university and union representatives, said McQuitta. Read more about this salary increase Return to Front Page