Dear Colleagues,
As you are no doubt aware, the university has now distributed 2020 discretionary salary increases and salary compression adjustments to all eligible UUP – represented employees. The roster outlining who received these payments and the amount that each employee received can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nu3l_8VrPIC5zJ6EfmSO7henlJ-TnbtR/view?usp=sharing.
The roster includes separate columns reflecting the amount each individual received for DSI and/or salary compression adjustments.
- The column titled “DSI Amount” reflects the amount of DSI received.
- The column titled “Compression Amount” reflects the amount which eligible individuals received to begin remediating salary compression identified in the 2019 salary compression analysis. Please note the following:
- The university was not able to fully remediate the amount of identified compression.
- Who received compression adjustments and/or the amounts of the adjustment each eligible employee received for 2020 may well be different than for 2019. This can be due to a number of factors including such things as:
- certain negotiated changes in how the 2020 compression analyses were conducted;
- the composition of the campus workforce may have changed due to retirements, resignations, promotions, new hires, etc. impacting how individual employee’ salaries compare to the salaries of other current co-workers, and
- the market salary rates used in the analysis have changed since last year.
- While there are other types of salary “equity”, the adjustments reflected here address salary compression and/or inversion identified by the university’s compression analysis. Salary compression exists when there is little or no difference in pay between that received by senior employees and less senior co-workers with similar job functions. Salary inversion exists when less senior employees receive salaries that are greater than more senior co-workers. Salary compression/inversion is caused by a combination of factors including market forces which disproportionately impact starting salaries and insufficient pay increases tied to promotion and years of service.
As a reminder, I encourage you to use the UUP Intake Form at the link below to provide UUP Central with information or voice any questions or concerns you have about the 2020 salary compression adjustments called for in the 2016-22 NYS-UUP Contract. These adjustments constitute the second of four years of compression adjustments required by the contract.
This intake form is not to be used in lieu of contacting campus Human Resources with questions you may have about your specific circumstances. I am encouraging members who have such questions to contact Jamie Bluhm jlbluhm@buffalo.edu.
However, even if you speak to HR about your specific case, it is also important for UUP to know what members’ questions and concerns are.
Interested members to complete this form by April 1, 2021.
Information collected through this process will be viewed at the chapter and state levels of UUP. UUP Central will use it to address concerns that need immediate attention. They also will use this information to inform the next round of discussions with the State over possible refinements or adjustments to the 2021 salary compression analysis. Modifications to the process and methodology adopted in the second round were a direct result of the information members provided after the first round of salary compression adjustments.
I encourage you to communicate with UUP Central through this intake form as soon as possible. They will begin analyzing all information as it comes in.
UUP Salary Compression Intake Form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UUP2020Compression
In Solidarity,
Ken Kern
Chapter President
UUP Buffalo Center