PA. UNIVERSITIES Aid cut leads to wage freeze

Pay increases linked to promotions will still be honored, one official said.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Salaries for managers, administrators and executives at Pennsylvania's 14-state owned universities are being frozen for the 2003-04 school year to help absorb a 5-percent reduction in state aid, Chancellor Judy G. Hample said Thursday.
The wage freeze is among several steps the State System of Higher Education is taking in response to the funding cut proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell and approved by the Legislature in March. The system will honor pay increases that are associated with promotions, however, Hample said.
About 4,000 nonfaculty members also have accepted a wage freeze under a contract ratified in July by Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
"In light of what the AFSCME employees have already accepted, this is not a terribly surprising development," state system spokesman Tom Gluck said.
Part of negotiations
The system also asked its 5,500-member faculty union to accept a two-year wage freeze as part of ongoing negotiations for a new contract.
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties has proposed a three-year contract with salary increases of 2 percent in the first year, 3.25 percent in the second year, and 3 percent in the third year.
APSCUF spokesman Kevin Kodish had little to say about the management wage freeze.
"Consider the fact that management received some nice increases earlier this year," he said. "That's their decision to make. We're still negotiating a contract, and we're optimistic that we can reach a fair agreement."
Gluck, however, noted that any previous management salary increases took effect at the beginning of the previous fiscal year July 1, 2002.
Faculty members received salary increases ranging between 2.5 percent and 7.5 percent, while managers' salaries increased by an average of 5.2 percent, he said.
Tuition for resident undergraduate students for the academic year has increased by $220, or 5 percent, to $4,598 under new rates set by the system's governing board July 29.
Additionally, Hample has asked the universities to reduce their spending by a combined $40 million. She has said those cuts could mean leaving job vacancies open, increasing class sizes and delaying equipment purchases and building maintenance.