We have had several questions regarding the notion of furloughs and the details of possible scenarios.

Based in large part on employee feedback, we are taking a serious look at this approach. Here are some of the basic themes of recent questions:

Q: Is the UFE (United Faculty of Evergreen) and the budget team looking at 5 day furlough scenarios for faculty?
A: Management is obligated to consult with UFE on any budget reductions that impact the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). UFE has indicated that they will do this after the final state budget has been released.

Source: Don Bantz, Academic Vice President and Provost
Date: 04-09-2009

Q: Will a mandatory furlough for classified staff result in a "break in state service"?
A: For Classified staff a furlough is a temporary layoff under the union contract and does not cause a break in service.

Under "Article 33 Layoff and Recall" of the current collective bargaining agreement, classified staff will be laid of by seniority within a layoff unit as provided they possess required skills and abilities for position...

Employees will be laid off in accordance with seniority, as defined in Article 37, Seniority. The Employer will determine if the employee possesses the required skills and abilities for the position and the comparability of the position.

Source: Allen Toothaker, Associate VP for Human Resources
Date: 3-19-2009

Q: Did the initial estimates of cost savings from furloughs include faculty?
A: No.

Q: Why not?
A: In part because faculty members are already on shorter contracts (e.g. nine months vs. 12 months) and they are not “scheduled employees” in a way that fits this type of scenario very well.  Further, faculty workload is tied to credit generation and seat time (for which students are directly paying).  So reductions in faculty days/hours would have some impact on those key issues (which are tied to funding and quality). 

If a faculty member or members want to explore changing how faculty furloughs will be employed as currently defined in Article 21 “Reduction in Force” of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), they should discuss it with the official representatives of the United Faculty of Evergreen (UFE).  Issues of wages and working conditions, including changes in the length of faculty contracts, fall under the CBA and must be negotiated between the union and the college.

Q: How much would we save if faculty participated in furloughs?
A: Given the challenges noted above, we’re not currently working on that scenario.

Q: What’s the total we could save from a furlough of classified and exempt staff?
A: We’ve updated those estimates.  Our best estimate at this point, with a number of factors still to be determined, is about $70,000 per day.  If we had a five-day furlough it would save about $350,000 per year.  Ten days would save about $700,000 (this is lower and presumed to be more accurate than our original estimates).  If the furlough was voluntary, as some have suggested, the numbers could be appreciably lower.  Our sense is that a voluntary furlough is not feasible.

Q: How much of a dent does that make in our budget challenge?
A: At 10 days, the total savings generated would be about 14 percent of what’s needed to address a 10 percent budget cut and about 9 percent of what’s needed to address a 15 percent cut.  That proportion would shrink if the state deficits increase (which is expected) or the legislature takes a more severe approach to cutting higher education than the Governor has so far.  The legislature has asked us to build a scenario for cuts 50% higher than the Governor proposed.  We are working on that now.

Q: Would furloughs of some length for one or more budget years allow us to avoid most other short term cuts or job losses?
A: The savings from a furlough of 10 days would equate to about 10 to 15 jobs saved across the campus.  In addition, based on the Governor’s budget, the cuts for Evergreen increase in the second year of the biennium (even if economic conditions don't get worse).  So the problem is bigger in 2010 barring some kind of major recovery (not just stabilization) in the economy and state tax receipts.  That bigger cut becomes the new baseline for the following biennium, for which we'll be planning in 2010. If the cut in hours/days (the furlough) was temporary, the size of the budget hole would then increase in future years by the amount of the original offset.  We would have to cut even deeper to make up the difference.

Q: Are you considering furlough models that vary the number of days based on an individual’s income (to make it more progressive/less severe on lower income employees)?
A: Yes. We are looking at scenarios to vary the number of unpaid days off based on income. If we do move toward furloughs, it’s also important that they be relatively easy and cost-effective to administer.

Source: Steve Trotter, Executive Director of Operational Budget and Planning and Walter Niemec, Associate Vice President for Academic Budget and Financial Planning
Date: 2-11-2009