By Prof. John Wallach, June 16, 2016
Posted on HUNTER-L
“… by far the lowest pay raise … in the past 30 years.”
[Post edited for style by Gregg Morris who admits his paraphrase “Hogwash” might be considered an exaggeration. Hunter-L is a listserv of Hunter College.]
Please note below the announcement of a contract for all CUNY faculty, below the line. Keep in mind that a 10.7 percent increase for 7 years is approximately 1.5 percent/year. Also note that inflation for the past seven years amounted to 9.2 percent.
Factoring that in, faculty received a raise of @ 0.25 percent/year for seven years. And one wonders how many faculty had to take out loans in order to cover costs stemming from their salaries lagging behind the cost of living increase for the past seven years. This is by far the lowest pay raise faculty has received in the past 30 years.
I am glad we have a contract, and I’m sure the PSC worked hard to get what they got. But, frankly, it’s not good – significantly below what other public employee unions have recently obtained – which average over percent /year.
If you keep in mind the increased earnings in the financial sector, you’ll have a picture of how income inequality continues to grow. Wages are stagnant, while executive salaries go through the roof as their underlings earn their money calculating on their computers how best to make abstract profits that are plowed back into their own business enterprises — rather than health, education, or the general welfare.
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