Q&A about Salaries and Increases
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Since 1989, HUCTW has negotiated with the University about the salary
program and pay increases. In those 20 years, we have achieved important
economic progress for union members at Harvard. The resulting salary and
increase program is comprised of two different annual raises that work together.
Here are some answers to Frequently-Asked Questions about our negotiated pay
increase program:
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Q: How do our increases work – what’s up with the two different parts?
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A: Each year a typical HUCTW member receives two salary increases.
A structural increase raises everyone’s pay by a set percentage
(most recently, 2.6% on July 1, 2007). In addition, progression
increases apply
to all with at least six months of service. The progression increase is a set
dollar amount, depending on your salary grade and hours per week. (For example,
on July 1, 2007, a staff member in Grade 53 working 35 hours got a $1080
progression increase.) For a typical union member, structural and progression
increases combined on July 1, 2007 to raise salary by 5 to 5.5% (6 to 6.5% for
those in the lower salary grades 47-50).
Click here
for examples of how the
increases of the last three years have affected different types of staff.
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Q: Why the complicated two-part system?
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A: The two parts of our program do different things. The structural raise
increases all salaries by the same percentage, with the goal of moving everyone
forward to keep up with the cost of living. Progression increases move you
through the grade toward the grade maximum with every year of service.
Progression raises ensure that longer-term staff earn salaries in the higher
part of the grade, solving the problem of “salary compression” which existed
before we formed our union. (Before 1989, longer-service workers had no
assurance of progress through the salary grade, and often earned salaries
in the middle or low end of the range.) As a result, while staff members
with less than 2 years of service earn an average salary of just over $39,600,
our co-workers with 20 or more years make nearly $53,200 on average.
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Q: Are our salaries keeping up with the cost of living in Eastern Massachusetts?
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A: Yes and no. On one hand, recent annual salary increases have been greater
than Boston-area inflation, as measured by the government. In the year that
ended November, 2007, the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI) for metropolitan Boston
had increased 3.4% in a year.
(Click here for more information about the CPI.)
As noted above, the typical HUCTW member saw a 5 – 5.5% raise in July.
As a result, a typical co-worker’s standard of living should have improved
by 1.5 to 2%, or an additional $600-800 in discretionary income.
But real life is more complex, and almost never typical. Costs of the most expensive things we buy – housing, health care, energy – have increased rapidly in recent years. For many of us, changes in our housing, health or family situations can trigger new costs which consume those negotiated increases, leaving us with a feeling of moving backwards. Thus, although we have made significant economic progress over the years in this system, there is still much more to be done to ensure that Harvard staff live comfortably and with financial security. |
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Q: How do our salaries and raises compare with other groups at Harvard, and
with other area universities?
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A: Our raises in the last three years have been bigger than those for any other
group of Harvard employees. The non-union Administrative and Professional staff
mostly had raises in the 3-4% range last year. Custodians and food service workers
saw raises of $0.83 to $1.00 per hour (a typical HUCTW member’s raise was $1.15 per hour).
It is somewhat difficult to compare our salaries with those of staff at other universities, because of differences in job descriptions, skill requirements, and other economic benefits. However, a number of salary surveys show that HUCTW members earn higher salaries than comparable groups at other Massachusetts colleges and universities. More anecdotally, new union members who come to work here from other higher education workplaces commonly report that their Harvard pay and benefits are at significantly higher levels than at their old jobs. |
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Q: Is it true that HUCTW won’t allow me to receive any extra salary increase or
bonus for doing a good job?
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A: No! The HUCTW-Harvard Agreement specifically says that “Salary increases for other
reasons may be granted at any time…” (p. 25). Our records show that many hundreds
of union members – as many as 10-15% of our co-workers – receive extra increases or
bonuses each year. In some cases, these changes are in connection with a
reclassification or promotion. In other cases, the improved pay represents
recognition for extra effort or excellent work. For more information about
a workshop on union strategies for seeking an upgrade or extra raise,
click here.
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Q: What happens when longer-service staff reach the grade maximums – are we being punished?
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A: This could be understood as “a good problem to have.” In our program,
the grade maximums are at unusually high levels. As a few examples, the Grade 51
maximum (for 35 hours/week) is currently $46,433, Grade 53 maximum is $55,669, and Grade 55 tops out
at $66,718. There are several hundred of our co-workers currently paid at the
grade maximum. Anyone who stays at Harvard will eventually “max out”
(at about 12 to 20 years of service, depending on where you started in the
range when first hired or reclassified). Union members who earn the grade
maximum do receive an increase each year because the grade maximum goes up
every year (4.5 % in 2007). However, that portion of the structure and
progression increases which would cause the salary to be over the maximum
is delivered as a lump-sum pensionable bonus. Typically this means that,
for someone who is “maxed out,” about ¾ of the annual raise is delivered
as a base pay increase, and ¼ is a bonus. Two things are important for
longer-term co-workers at the maximum. We need to negotiate strong increases
to raise the grade maximums, every year. We also have to make sure that
there are good resources and strong support for ongoing professional development,
especially in the middle and late stages of our careers.
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Q: My annual raises are only slightly more than inflation – I can’t imagine
ever being able to buy a home or send my kids to college. How am I supposed
to get ahead in this system?
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A: It is very difficult, with the Boston area cost of living. However,
according to a recently-conducted survey of union members nearly 40% of
HUCTW members own their homes, and most of our kids go to college. There are
several important factors combining in the success stories of many of our
co-workers. To be sure, our Union needs to negotiate strong salary increases
and to maintain a good process offering opportunities for reclassifications
and promotions. We also must continue to develop creative benefit programs
and assist members at their most challenging financial times – with the
costs of child care, housing transitions, elder care, and health problems.
But just as important is the need for individual staff members to be life-long
learners, building new skills continuously and attaining higher levels of education.
Among our co-workers, those who have achieved the greatest financial security
are those who have added educational credentials or significant new skills,
leading to opportunities for bigger leaps to higher career levels and better
economic standing.
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