UCI Seeks Input on Different Set of Furlough Closure Days

Late Wednesday (6 August 2009), UCI administration announced in a campus email that it is seeking input on a different draft proposal to close the campus during 7 furlough days. In contrast, a faculty proposal seeks furlough day closures on a different set of 10 days. The draft proposal for which UCI Chancellor Michael Drake and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Michael Gottfredson are seeking feedback is as follows:

• Close campus Dec. 21, 2009-Jan. 1, 2010: This would extend our standard holiday closure practice by three-days. Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1 would remain university holidays; the six remaining days (Dec. 21-23 and 28-30) would not be paid holidays, and eligible employees would be encouraged to take them as furlough days.
• Close campus March 25, 2010: This precedes the March 26 Cesar Chavez holiday, creating a four-day weekend. Again, eligible employees would be encouraged to take March 25 as a furlough day.

In fact, as listeners to KUCI Subversity's 20 July 2009 show already have discovered, the University has told one union (CUE) at the bargaining table that these furlough days are in fact paid holidays. This is no doubt because affected employees will be having their pay cut monthly anyway, so if their furloughs are also to result in more reduction in pay, that would be placing them in double jeopardy!

In any case, the University does not want to hear from UCI union members, who instead are directed in the mass email to send any feedback to their own union representatives.

Both Drake and Gottfredson will answer questions at a Budget Town Hall noon-1 p.m. Thursday, 6 August 2009, in UCI's Student Center, Pacific Ballrooms C and D.

UCI Faculty Seek Campus Closures on Furlough Days

The governing body of the UCI Academic Senate has endorsed a UCSC faculty plan to make the pain from UC paycuts and furloughs visible. The faculty senate cabinet is recommending closing the UCI campus on these dates, according to a 28 July 2009 letter from UCI Prof. Jukka Heckhausen, who chairs the UCI Academic Senate, to Prof. Mary Croughan, who chairs the UC system-wide Academic Senate:

Fall quarter

• September 21
• November 23,24,25 (Thanksgiving Week)

Winter quarter

• January 4, 5 (delay start of winter quarter)
• February 12

Spring quarter

• March 29, 30 (delay start of spring quarter)
• May 28

The letter asserts: "A majority of the Cabinet felt that the plan makes the consequences of the budget cuts and furloughs visible to the public, the Legislature, and the Regents while at the same time limiting the negative impact on instruction." At least 74 UCI faculty members signed a petition recommending this route.

No word yet on whether this would go into effect or not.

Of course, unionized UC workers are not (as yet) subject to the pay cut and furlough plan, so how this would work with just faculty not showing is anybody's guess. UC has yet to seriously begin negotiating with campus unions on this matter.