Dear President Schatzel, Vice Presidents and Executive Administration, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Louisville,

The University of Louisville has recently rolled out compensation studies and plans, which have initiated salary and pay adjustments for a certain proportion of faculty, staff, and other workers. These adjustments were overdue and necessary for retaining workers and recognizing their labor supporting UofL’s goals in the twenty-first century. However, these recent compensation studies and plans fail to address the underlying structural problems with inequitable and subpar compensation and salary compression at the University. In fact, the recent adjustments only reflect the degree to which the University has underpaid and undervalued its workers.

Even after salary and pay adjustments, we are still underpaid. These low and compressed wages mean that turnover is high for student and other workers, staff, and faculty, that positions are left open or cut altogether, and that already undervalued workers feel the burden. Meanwhile, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education 2024 article, UofL’s current President made $988,581 in 2023 and is one of the top 35 most highly paid chief executives of 175 public doctoral universities. Upper-administrators are making hundreds of thousands of dollars while many UofL workers struggle with paying bills. Some workers are making choices between running air conditioning and meeting other basic expenses. Others must make use of the on-campus food pantry, the Cardinal Cupboard, because they cannot afford groceries.

The University of Louisville chapter of United Campus Workers of Kentucky seeks an end to this pattern of disrespect and disinvestment. The staff, full- and part-time faculty, facilities workers, and graduate and undergraduate student workers at the University of Louisville matter: there is no University of Louisville without us.

Our vision for the University is one of a more supportive and equitable workplace. You, the President, and the Vice Presidents, as well as all upper-administrative personnel, should forego raises, bonuses, and incentives until the following steps are taken and greater equity is established:

• Commit to a date when UofL will move to phase II and address pressing compensation problems, such as salary compression, systemic pay inequities (including racial and gender inequities that result in delayed promotions), and consistently underpaid workers who have served this university for many years.

• Improve transparency in the compensation studies by publicly sharing compensation-study contracts with Segal.

• Improve transparency in next steps for engaging faculty, staff, and worker voices in phase II and any future phases.

• Foster accountability by naming a specific date by which salaries or pay that fall short are rectified.  

• Foster equity by creating a sliding-scale COLA or “general-wage increase” where lower-paid workers receive a greater percent raise than higher-paid workers. Lower-paid workers are struggling!  

• Commit to real, annual merit raises in addition to COLA once a floor of a living wage is reached for all.

We are at a crisis point. Years of understaffing, low pay, and low morale—combined with rampant institutional disregard for workers’ expertise and insights about our jobs—have led us to take action. We will not accept proposals from UofL’s upper administration that do not meaningfully take into account workers’ current and future wellbeing. UofL workers deserve proper compensation.