University at Albany
PA-9: Employee Compensation

Most employees at UAlbany are covered under collective bargaining via various unions including: Faculty and staff of the United University Professions (UUP) Staff of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Public Employees Federation (PEF) Graduate Assistants / Teaching Assistants of the Graduate Student Employee Union (GSEU) Non-management / non-supervisory staff of Sodexo (CSEA) The following employees on campus are not covered by collective bargaining agreements: Management Confidential employees Supervisory / Management staff of Sodexo

The standards used to determine sustainable compensation include: 1. The Governor's new initiative whereby all SUNY workers will receive a minimum wage of $15 per hour. https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press-releases/01-2016/01-04-16/governor-cuomo-announces-state-university-system-to-raise-minimum-wage-for-employees-to-15.html Note: all UAlbany employees under the state payrolls wage will be increased according to the time schedule laid out in the Governor's plan 2. The existing Prevailing Wage Acts including Davis Bacon, McNamara-O'Hara and Walsh-Healey Public Contracts. http://www.albany.edu/purchasing/research_funded/information_for_vendors_rf.html#Prevailing_Wages The Employee Relations Office is responsible for administering and ensuring adherence to the provisions of eight separate collective bargaining agreements covering over 3,400 State employees. The office works closely with all levels of University management to provide counsel and guidance regarding the application of the provisions of the Agreements; address issues of employee misconduct and labor matters, both on campus and before external administrative review bodies; conduct workshops and seminars for University managers regarding contract administration and grievance resolution; and, facilitate local labor / management activities. The office serves as the University liaison for labor matters with external constituents such as the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, Department of Civil Service, and SUNY System Administration. On each pay stub contractors and subcontractors are required to provide written notice to all laborers, workers or mechanics of the prevailing wage rate for their particular job classification. In the event that the required information will not fit on the pay stub, an accompanying sheet or attachment of the information will suffice. They are required to post a notice at the beginning of the performance of every public work contract on each job site that includes the telephone number and address for the Department of Labor and a statement informing laborers, workers or mechanics of their right to contact the Department of Labor if he/she is not receiving the proper prevailing rate of wages and/or supplements for his/her particular job classification. The required notification will be provided with each wage schedule. This provision is an addition to the existing prevailing wage rate law, Labor Law Section 220, paragraph a of subdivision 3-a.

Wages and benefits are in line with those stipulations outlined in their collective bargaining agreement. State and Research Foundation Employees benefits include Health, Dental and vision insurance, Retirement, vacation, sick and personal leave. Tuition assistance, etc. A minimum of $10.98 per hour must be paid. Governor Cuomo's action to increase minimum wage at SUNY— which will need to be formally approved by the SUNY board in January 2016 — would continue to bolster support for a broader statewide push for a $15 minimum salary for all jobs, public and private. The university will align its minimum wage with state requirements.

If under 50% FTE, employees are not eligible for benefits. A minimum of $10.98 per hour must be paid.

If the staff member is full time, they would receive similar benefits list above, if they are part time, they must be at least 50% FTE to receive benefits. A minimum of $10.98 per hour must be paid.

The university has taken steps to examine the working conditions and pay of adjunct and contingent faculty. A report was recently released by a panel convened by the Provost and contained several recommendations. A summary of their work and a link to the full report is available at: http://www.albany.edu/news/65340.php Currently adjuncts are paid the equivalent of approximately $2,400 per semester for a 3 credit hour course, retirement and sick leave eligibility. They must teach 2 courses to be eligible for health benefits. One step toward implementation of one of the panel’s key recommendations was realized in the 2016-17 Compact Budget Process, released by President Jones in October. It included $400,000 to begin to address increased compensation of our part-time faculty.

The panel mentioned in the above passage also examined the conditions of graduate student workers and made several recommendations including increasing stipends and expand support. A list of the recommendations and a link to the report can be found here: http://www.albany.edu/news/65152.php Graduate Stipends must be at least $10,000 with a 2% raise adjustment each year. Undergraduate student workers are paid at least $8.75 an hour with no benefits.