In your June 28 editorial "Clean It Up," you state that "almost a year has gone by and there has been little done to rectify the problem of our underpaid and overworked UNC housekeepers."
This is not true.
This past March, 75 percent of our housekeepers received raises averaging 4 percent.
We were able to do this using the limited flexibility we have within the state-imposed salary schedules and regulations. All housekeepers who were eligible under the state rules received salary increases. These pay raises were a proactive step taken by the University administration to improve salaries for housekeepers that required reallocation of funds from other important University priorities.
Why did we make this move?
Because we know housekeepers deserve it. We know they work hard and work in one of the state's most expensive places to live. But our support for the housekeepers extends far beyond our efforts to improve pay.
Since the early 1990s, we've provided development opportunities for housekeepers and other employees interested in learning new skills that will qualify them for higher-paying jobs. The programs are provided free of charge and are available during working hours.
And we'd like to do more. But we are limited in what we can do by the state, which sets the pay scale for housekeepers and prohibits any geographic differences in salary, despite the high cost of living here.
Should the state someday grant us more management flexibility, something proposed in the legislature's current session, we would be freed from such restraints.
