A resolution concerning the adverse effects of the increased cost of gas

Resolution 08-05

PROPOSED RESOLUTION OF THE EMPLOYEE FORUM
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

May 7, 2008

WHEREAS the Mission of the Employee Forum is to address constructively the concerns of Employees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and those concerns include the representation of staff concerns to University officials, State Legislators, and the citizenry of North Carolina; and

WHEREAS the continuing rise in gasoline prices has  an increasingly burdensome  effect on all state employees, particularly our lowest paid employees; and

WHEREAS many employees cannot   afford to live close enough to their employment at this University to utilize public transit and must commute significant distances to work -  the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment indicating that 63% of all staff employees live outside the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area (1); and

WHEREAS the most recent surge in gas prices now places an immediate, continuing and increasing difficult financial burden on many employees greater than the difficulties experienced immediately after Hurricane Katrina; and

http://www.northcarolinagasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx

WHEREAS this Forum has previously passed Resolution 05-10 — A resolution concerning the creation of an adverse gas price emergency plan asking for urgent action to address this issue; and

WHEREAS in that Resolution the Forum clearly requested Chancellor Moeser “to convene a task force to quickly formulate an Adverse Gas Price Emergency Plan that encourages all University departments to implement ways to mitigate the rapidly increasing costs of commuting to work”; and

WHEREAS by Resolution 06-02 — A resolution concerning the implementation of flexible working schedules, the Forum asked the Chancellor to proactively direct University departments and divisions to adopt gas-saving telecommuting and flexible scheduling plans, in part to provide employees with relief from climbing gas prices; and

WHEREAS this Forum passed Resolution 07-09 — A resolution concerning the adverse effects of the increased cost of gas to alert the Chancellor that employee morale was  plunging precipitously in the wake of “the unwillingness of many managers and supervisors to enact efforts to mitigate the effect of rising gas prices after Hurricane Katrina without offering rational and substantive reasons”; and

WHEREAS this resolution asked the Chancellor “to reiterate his previous memoranda as instructions to all University departments to work to implement ways to mitigate the rapidly increasing costs of commuting to work,” specifically including maximum flexibility in work schedules and telecommuting, as well as continuing promotion of mass transit options; and

WHEREAS despite each of these resolutions, the Chancellor and University administration have manifestly failed to address this issue in any meaningful way; and

WHEREAS this inaction is tantamount to a failure of leadership that has had a damaging effect on the morale of staff and is prejudiciously impacting the quality of life of the lowest paid employees who cannot afford to live close to the university as do the better paid members of the administration due to exorbitant housing prices in Chapel Hill; and

WHEREAS the senior members of this administration earning corpulent salaries, live close to the University, and therefore are not nearly as impacted in their work life by rising fuel prices; and

*Based on address of record, using Google Earth to calculate distance between residence and South Bldg.                            

**Percent of annual salary based on using 30 gallons of gas/month @ $4.00 per gallon

***Mean salary based on information from the Office of State Personnel; miles to work based on median value results from Employee Forum’s 2006 teleworking/flexible scheduling survey of staff personnel.

WHEREAS their lack of meaningful action demonstrates that the rising cost of gas is not a particularly pressing issue for them and their failure to prioritize this issue is a dereliction of their duty to be concerned for the welfare of all university staff;                            

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that once again this Forum calls on the Chancellor to demonstrate his leadership and provide forceful direction above and beyond issuing memoranda on this issue by convening an Emergency Gas Price Crisis Task Force to formulate urgent and meaningful strategies to help combat the extreme difficulties caused by spiraling gas prices, with said task force to have significant representation by those most affected by this mounting crisis.

To Be Signed on Behalf of the Employee Forum,

Ernie Patterson, Chair 

References:

(1) From the table of Full-Part/Part-time Faculty/Staff Employees by City, prepared by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment, Human Resources Data Warehouse as of October 1, 2007.