BRIEF #1
Association of Academic Professionals
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Affiliate, Illinois Education Association (IEA/NEA)
337-5174, aap@shout.net, www.prairienet.org/aap/
14 December 1998

Five-plus-five . . . minus AP input!

UI rejects plan, but future retirees not consulted

By Camille Monahan and Jamie Hutchinson

In November, Governor Jim Edgar unveiled a "five-plus-five" early retirement plan for state workers. For a limited time, this plan would allow employees to add five years to their age and number of years of service when determining their retirement benefits. For example, under the five-plus-five plan a 50-year-old employee with 30 years of service would be able to retire with the benefits of a 55-year-old with 35 years of service.

Shortly after Edgar's announcement of the plan, University of Illinois President James Stukel sent an email to all university employees decrying the plan, stating that the University Policy Council (UPC) feels that the plan is too costly and would threaten academic programs. (UPC is an "executive leadership team" consisting of the chancellors of the three campuses and several top managers in central administration.) Stukel said the university instead supports a "30-and-out" system under which employees can retire after 30 years of service regardless of age.

On December 5, Governor-elect George Ryan effectively killed the five-plus-five initiative, saying that he would veto the plan if it was passed in the General Assembly. Ryan said that the plan "could very well wipe out middle management of state government."

The issue is control

Whether or not the university can afford five-plus-five is really not the issue for academic professionals. In truth, many unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have serious reservations about the implementation of five-plus-five and its impact on the workloads of employees who choose not to retire.

Rather, the issue is control: The administration chose to lobby against the plan without consulting the employees who might benefit from it. Retirement options and services are one of the most important benefits that U of I employees possess, and yet academic professional staff (nearly 2,500 APs on the UIUC campus alone) were not consulted or asked to participate in a matter that so directly impacts us.

AP age, service increasing

The Professional Advisory Committee (an advisory body which reports to Chancellor Aiken) conducted a survey in 1997 and found that APs as a group are growing closer to retirement: 60 percent of survey respondents were age 40 or older, compared with just 34 percent in 1976 (when the previous survey was conducted). In addition, APs have contributed more years of service to the university. Today, more than 40 percent of APs have worked here for at least ten years compared with 1976 when only 21 percent had served the university for that length of time.

Consultation with APs would have been appropriate before taking such an aggressive stance on the issue. Could five-plus-five have been modified to meet the administration's needs, as well as those of APs? We'll never know.

Furthermore, academic professionals should not have to rely solely on information dispensed by the administration. Five-plus-five is likely not a feasible plan for the university to offer, but the only way to be sure is to check the books ourselves. When APs are organized into a legally recognized collective bargaining unit with nearly 100,000 fellow Illinois Education Association (IEA) members, we will be able to draw on the financial expertise of IEA staff to verify or disprove proclamations of "Too costly!"

APs should request discussion!

The Association of Academic Professionals seeks inclusion for all APs in this important decision-making process. We suggest that all APs concerned about retirement issues and opportunities email President Stukel (jstukel@uillinois.edu, please copy us at aap@shout.net) to request information forums in which APs, other staff, and the administration can discuss retirement options together.