Wednesday, July 28, 1993

CALL 888-4567:  UW's switchboard has added a second main phone number.
Calling (519) 888-4567 reaches an "automated attendant", a service
that callers can use from any touch-tone phone.  An electronic voice
tells you to press "1" and then the four-digit extension number you
want, followed by the # (number-sign) key.  

The "automated attendant" is there 24 hours a day, making it possible
for outside calls to reach UW extensions nights and weekends when the
main switchboard is closed.  It should also be a time-saver for people
who call the university frequently and know the extension number they want.
A human being will still be on duty at (519) 885-1211 to help callers
who don't know the extension number or who don't have touch-tone phones.

A yellow memo from Joan Wiley of telephone services, announcing the new
"attendant", is being distributed on campus this week.

THE $30,000 CUTOFF:  Yes, people earning less than $30,000 a year are
still protected from pay cuts under the Social Contract and the local
agreement between UW and the staff association.  In yesterday's Bulletin,
I was trying to summarize the agreement very briefly, and I didn't bother
to mention the "low-income cutoff".  The agreement makes it clear that
people under the $30,000 level can't lose any pay, and so don't have to
take unpaid days off.  The one day the university will be fully closed
(February 21, 1994) can be taken as a 1993-94 vacation day, borrowed
from 1994-95 vacation if necessary, or taken as a voluntary unpaid day.

Staff members earning only a little above $30,000 can only lose pay
down to the $30,000 level, which could mean taking only one or two unpaid
days instead of the full three.

The $30,000 cutoff means that graduate students who work as teaching and
research assistants aren't affected by the Social Contract cuts, although
UW's Graduate Student Association has been seeking certification as a
"bargaining agent" for Social Contract purposes and is expected to go 
through the motions of signing an agreement with UW management as part of
the Social Contract process.

FACULTY MEETING:  The faculty association has set a special general
meeting for this afternoon (2:30 p.m., Physics room 145).  The main item
on the agenda is of course the Social Contract, and presumably there
will be a report on how negotiations with UW's management have gone.
This Friday (July 30) is the deadline for an agreement -- if none is reached,
management is required by the Social Contract Act to introduce a "failsafe"
plan.  Provost Jim Kalbfleisch made clear on Monday that the "failsafe"
plan for faculty would include the same three-year pay freeze and three
annual unpaid days that staff are facing.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs
credmond@watserv1    ext. 3004