 | The Cavalier daily. Tuesday, February 11, 1969 |  |
Adjustment Of Wages
As of minimum wage of this month, $1.00 was the
Federal minimum wage applicable to the University. Mr.
Jenkins said that on that date only a "few employees"
had been adjusted to meet the $1.30 minimum.
He said the Commonwealth has generally stayed ahead
of the adjustments required by the Fair Labor Standards
Act. On March 1, he said, the University will put into
effect newly-authorized state ranges which will set up an
annual salary of $3,024 as the lowest beginning step for a
salaried employee. This has an hourly equivalent rate of
$1.45. "A new person employed at this rate would be
eligible to go to the next step of $3,168 in six months.
This step has an hourly equivalent of $1.52 per hour," he
pointed out.
Mr. Jenkins said that Governor Godwin indicated last
July that an additional general increase probably would
be granted during the 1969-70 fiscal year, which would
result in the lowest salaried step being $3,168 per year.
After six months, an employee will be eligible to go to
$3,312, which is about $1.60 per hour.
"This indicates a marked improvement in the base rate
for the State service and means that on or about July 1,
1969, the State rates probably will be at the Federal
minimum which applies to all categories and to which the
State is not compelled to go until 1971."
Mr. Jenkins indicated that the University's efforts to
increase salaries for its employees amounts to keeping the
State Director of Personnel informed of its salary needs.
He said that this is done on a "continuing basis." Mr.
Jenkins invited the State's Assistant Director of Personnel
to visit the University last June and presented him with
"facts about vacancies and wage surveys for the community."
Both the Assistant Director of Personnel for the
State and the Supervisor of Wage and Salary Administration
for the State of Virginia were informed about the
necessity of employees at the service level having to work
in two jobs in order to meet the high cost of living in the
Charlottesville area.
When asked about the prospects for future improvements
in the State salary structure, Mr. Jenkins replied
that "the main problem is to overcome the burden of the
general state philosophy of salary administration, which is
to perpetuate mediocrity.
"The general policy," he said, "has been a very
conservative approach to salary increases. The general
result has been in many categories to pay as little as could
be paid to get a minimum job accomplished."
Mr. Jenkins said that "it is interesting to note that the
philosophy of the Federal government is to provide
exemplary salary scales and a majority of the Virginia
delegation to Congress normally votes in favor of numerous
salary adjustments for Government employees. At the
same time, there is the philosophy on the home front that
State salaries should be somewhere in the middle or lower
part of the pack instead of leading the pack."
| The Cavalier daily. Tuesday, February 11, 1969 | |