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Dear George, I write to comment on a front page article appearing in the Daily Progress on July 31, 2004, "Casteen touts charter plan." This story has to do with UVA, Virginia Tech and William and Mary's legislative proposal to grant their schools greater autonomy in exchange for less state money. Although UVA has submitted this bill to Virginia's lawmakers for approval, they refuse to share the specifics of the plan with concerned Virginia citizens and groups. The schools have reported that they're asking for changes to the Commonwealth's personnel, procurement and finance policies. As a long time Virginia state employee, an employee advocate, and a current active member of SUUVA (Staff Union at the University of Virginia), it is the tampering with Virginia's Personnel Act that concerns me most, since it would negatively affect 50,000 state staff members in Charlottesville, Williamsburg and Blacksburg. John Casteen, asks that we use the decentralization of UVA's Medical Center as a model of success for this proposal. Indeed, UVA's Medical Center has grossed more money since their chartered status took effect in recent years. However, this gain came at the expense of many loyal Medical Center staff members through the re-alignment of 170 jobs. I offer two examples of how this realignment hurt workers. An older long-time female African American office support staff member was forced to take a job at UVA's day care center. She was unable physically to keep up with small children, so she lost her job at UVA. Another long-time female African American staff member had carefully arranged her work shift around her husband's, in order to always have one parent available to their children and a disabled parent. Realignment forced her to take another job with a different shift, ruining their responsible plan to care for their family. These are just two of many like stories about the damaging effects of chartered status on UVA hospital staff. At the same time, the Medical Center hired a number of top administrators earning $500,000/year, while staff do more for less pay. If UVA, Virginia Tech and William and Mary become decentralized as UVA's Medical Center has, their staff can expect less paid vacation and sick leave, reduced health care and retirement benefits, less employment security, and no obligation by their institutions to grant raises consistent with state increases. I urge classified staff employees working at these schools to sign SUUVA's on-line petition to state legislators protesting this proposal at www.suuva.org. Additionally, I ask that UVA's staff consider joining SUUVA in order to strengthen our power through numbers. Finally, I ask that Virginia Tech and William and Mary staff members contact SUUVA to learn how to join our tri-institutional campaign to stop this chartered/decentralizing attempt to our workplace. Thank you, Dena T. Bowers (Electronic mail, August 6, 2004)
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