Concerning the adverse effects of the increased cost of gas
RESOLUTION OF THE EMPLOYEE FORUM
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
June 6, 2007
WHEREAS the Mission of the Employee Forum is to address constructively the concerns of Employees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and those concerns include the representation of staff concerns to University officials, State Legislators, and the citizenry of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS the continuing rise in gasoline prices has had an ever-increasing adverse effect on all state employees particularly the lowest paid employees; and
WHEREAS many Employees can no longer afford to live close enough to their employment at this University to utilize public transit and must commute significant distances to work (see attached map); and
WHEREAS the most recent surge in gas prices now places an immediate, continuing and increasing financial burden on many Employees almost equivalent to the difficulties experienced immediately after Hurricane Katrina; and
WHEREAS, the unwillingness of many managers and supervisors to enact efforts to mitigate the effect of rising gas prices after Hurricane Katrina without offering rational and substantive reasons was perceived by many to have had a significant demoralizing and damaging effect on staff morale, particularly amongst lower paid Employees
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Employee Forum urgently calls on the Chancellor to reiterate his previous memoranda as instructions to all University departments to work to implement ways to mitigate the rapidly increasing costs of commuting to work
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Employee Forum urges that Chancellor and Administration ensure that managers and supervisors adopt meaningful and effective supporting strategies that might include:
- Encouraging the adoption of maximum flexibility in work scheduling across all departments
- Adopting, where practicable, four 10-hour workdays or other mutually agreeable scheduling options.
- Maximizing all possible telecommuting options for staff positions.
- Promoting more vanpooling, carpooling and the use of public transit
- Increasing subsidies for vanpools to encourage more Employees to use these options.
Signed on behalf of the Employee Forum
Chair, Ernie Patterson