Monday’s Faculty Welfare Committee meeting covered subjects related to students, faculty and staff alike. Here are the top three takeaways:
1) A resolution asking for fair, market-rate compensation for UNC staff members is in the works.
The resolution was written by the Employee Forum's Personnel Issues Committee as a response to a report on market rates by the UNC System Office. It is just a preliminary draft.
Clare Counihan, program coordinator for faculty and staff at the Carolina Women’s Center, said compensation for staff members does not reflect current market rates.
“One of the things the committee thought was really important is creating a data point for the University to take to, for example the legislature, to say this is what folks were paid before the economic crisis,” Counihan said. “The numbers may be bigger on salary but people are effectively making less, especially when you factor in the value of health benefits and everything.”
Some employees, who are subject to the State Human Resources Act, have salaries tied to career bands. This career banding puts certain staff jobs into categories with set salary rates, which may not reflect inflation and salary compression. Counihan said the employee forum is trying to increase cooperation between staff and faculty.
2) UNC Human Resources is expanding wellness benefits with free blood pressure checks and retirement planning classes.
Students, faculty and staff will soon be able to get their blood pressure checked for free in 12 places on campus instead of four. The “Check. Change. Control” program by the American Heart Association allows participants to maintain a healthy heart by giving them access to free blood pressure checks as well as an online tracker and educational materials. Students can now check their blood pressure until June 1 at Campus Recreation, the Gillings School of Global Public Health and Kenan-Flagler Business School gym with others being added soon.
UNC Human Resources will be hosting a financial fitness lunch series every Wednesday starting March 14. The lunches will be hosted in the Molecular Biology Research Building and will be administrated by the Teacher's Insurance and Annuity Association.
