Senator Cathleen Galgiani introduced a proposed Constitutional Amendment on Monday in response to the latest audit of the University of California’s finances.
Under the Galgiani Amendment, in any year that the University of California pays more than 600 administrators a salary above that paid to the Governor, the University may not increase tuition or enter into contracts paying substandard wages to those who provide cleaning and maintenance services.
“I arrived at the number 600 after eliminating clinical and faculty job classifications. Only administrative positions – executives, managers, and academic administrators – are included,” explained Galgiani. “UC’s finances are woefully unbalanced favoring top administrators at the expense of long-time workers and students. After draining the pockets of the lowest paid workers, they’ve created a monstrosity of highly paid administrators whose salaries can only be fed by rising student fees.”
The amendment would force a new discipline on UC, said Galgiani, cutting back on high salaries and treating people fairly. If not, the student fee pipeline would be closed.
“Increasing salaries for top earners at the expense of students and other employees is a worn-out strategy by UC. In 2009, tuition was raised by 32 percent, yet lower-wage workers were furloughed and student admissions were cut,” noted Galgiani. “Nonetheless, two years later, UC handed out $100,000 pay raises to select administrators.”
From 2004 to 2014, management and senior professional positions expanded by 60 percent, even outnumbering tenure-track faculty.
“I recognize that UC will say they need to pay so many administrators so much more than the Governor for ‘competitive reasons.’ That may or may not be true. If it is true, then the principle of ‘competitive’ should be applied to more than just them,” Galgiani said. “Students from lower income families can’t compete for admission slots with wealthy foreign and out-of-state students who can afford to pay more. And UC’s growing reliance on low-wage, largely immigrant subcontracted service workers creates a competitive disadvantage for its own employees who have to weather the storm.”
Galgiani’s Fifth Senate District includes San Joaquin County.
