Re: The July 7 article "Why I support UA President Robbins' campus plan."
Regent DuVal’s defense of UA President Robbins’ financial plan is predictable and problematic. UA's financial challenges are no greater than those of our peers, but our furloughs/pay cuts are significantly more (#WhyJustUA). The Coalition for Academic Justice at UA (CAJUA), which includes faculty, staff, and graduate students, paid for an expert financial analysis that clearly showed there are alternatives to combatting this crisis with UA's $2.2B economy instead of on the backs of workers who are making <$150K. Why is it acceptable to DuVal and Robbins et al. for workers to take significant pay cuts, as much as 2 months of pay, leading to them having to borrow or worse, instead of UA having that burden given its resources? Had Robbins et al. honored shared governance and leveraged faculty and staff expertise instead, the financial issues could have been amicably addressed in April. A collaborative review of data will reveal clearer answers and better solutions instead of a straw argument of students and their families vs workers.
Sonja Schutz
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
