United Academics, the University of Oregon’s faculty union, published a letter  opposing the administration’s treatment of career faculty during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis.

This comes in response to the university’s decision to cut faculty up for promotion to 0.55 Full Time Equivalency — how many hours an employee works in a week —  instead of the 1.0 FTE they normally would have received.

United Academics wrote in the letter that, “extorting Career Faculty due for approved promotions by making them choose between giving up their promotion, or being promoted to a contract that cuts their previous salary by half is breathtaking in its short-sightedness and disrespect.”

The letter proposed a progressive pay cut that would protect faculty who make less than $50,000 a year, and cut from the university’s top earners, such as UO President Michael Schill. According to the letter, “the average Career Faculty Member makes $50,000 to $60,000 annually, while the University President makes in excess of $700,000 annually.”

United Academics wrote in a newsletter published on June 1 that “tying promotion to FTE reductions for Career faculty and trading non-negotiable salary cuts for Career faculty FTE are not real efforts to solve problems. They are efforts to disempower the faculty and choose the administrative status quo over the mission of excellence. Faculty, staff, students, our state, and the university’s mission deserve better.”

This story was updated to correct the date that the letter was written.