SEANC’s fight against House Bill 243, which allows the UNC System to cut salaries for its employees, was a wild ride this week. The bill passed the Senate with amendments, and the House voted not to concur with those changes, meaning a conference committee will hash out the discrepancies.

On Wednesday, the UNC Board of Governors met to discuss, among other items, an incentives plan that could result in 20% bonuses for chancellors. Some of these chancellors make more than $600,000 a year already! This is not a good look for the system when it is telling legislators it needs to cut employee salaries to deal with a budget crunch.

SEANC District 25 Chairman James Holman spelled out SEANC’s concerns with the bill in a letter to the editor of The Daily Tar Heel. We encourage employees on all 17 campuses to voice their opinions as well!

Conferees for the Senate have yet to be appointed. We encourage members to reach out to conferees from the House, listed here, to tell them to remove language that would allow salary cuts from the bill.

SEANC Government Relations Director Suzanne Beasley explains more about H243 as well as bills on cost-of-living adjustments for retirees and the state’s Forestry division in this week’s Legislative Update.