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NEWS^ C^Tlottt $o«t
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Workers, Easley still at odds over pay
By Steve Hartsoe
THE .ASSOCIATED PRESS
RALEIGH - Sucking on a
lollipop as he emerged from
a meeting with House
Speaker Jim Black, Dana
Cope led a group of reporters
into a conference room to
explain what kind of deal
he’d worked out for state
employees.
He wanted another $150
for the workers he repre
sents.
He didn’t get it
The reasons may be more
than just financial, although
that was the explanation
cited when Democratic Gov.
Mike Easley threatened to
veto the state budget if it
included a side deal for the
extra $150.
There’s a long history of
discontent between lawmak
ers in Raleigh and the State
Employees Association of
North Carolina, of which
Cope is the executive direc
tor. And while Cope remains
hopeful there’s still a better
deal to be made this year, the
budget was set and legisla
tors moved on to other issues
before adjourning this week.
Several years ago, associa
tion members referred to leg
islative leaders as “cock
roaches” during a rally Last
year, the association
endorsed Easley’s chal
lenger, Republican Patrick
Ballantine, who promised
them a 5 percent annual
raise in each of the following
three years if elected
Easley won the group’s
endorsement when he first
ran for governor in 2000. But
four years later, Cope said
his group’s members were
‘fed up” with the pay raises
that they had received since.
Their discontent had been
stirred by the governor’s
2001 decision to intercept
$130 million headed to the
state employees’ retirement
system, money used instead
to help balance the state’s
budget
“Now, supporting the
wrong person for governor, it
was pretty much agreed to
most people that Gov. Easley
was going to be elected,”
Black said in an interview.
“And (Cope) just spent a
half-million dollars trying to
beat an incumbent gover
nor.”
Three-fourths of the state
work force makes less than
$38,000 per year, according
to the employees association.
This year, the group initial
ly lobbied for a 5 percent
raise. Ultimately, they could
only get a raise of 2 percent
or $850, whichever is
greater, and an extra week of
vacation.
It appeared last week that
the employees association
had worked out a deal with
legislative leaders to give
rank-and-file workers anoth
er $150. But the backslap-
ping quickly dissolved when
Easley warned lawmakers
he’d veto any budget that
included the extra $150,
which would have cost the
state about $22 million
Easley said the money would
have busted his self-imposed
spending increase limit of
5.6 percent.
Cope said he doesn’t
believe Easley killed the
bonus because of last year’s
endorsement. He called it
“growing pains” as the asso
ciation develops more clout
at the negotiating table, led
this year by freshman Rep.
Lmda Coleman, D-Wake, a
former state worker.
‘Tfs hard for me to believe
that the governor could be so
petty that because of that
election endorsement by our
rank-and-file members that
he would prevent a $150 pay
raise per employee that are
already hurting, making real
choices between prescription
medicine and food on the
table,” he said.
The North Carolina
FILE PHOTO
Historically-black Barber-Scotia College will not offer room and board to students during the
2005-06 academic year. The school expects to save $1 million as a result
Room, board out at Barber-Scotia
Tinubu
By Herbert L, White
herb .white® thecharlottepostrom
For the first time ever, Barber-Scotia College
will be strictly a commuter
school.
The historically-black Concord
school will begin classes Sept. 14,
but will suspend residential ser
vices for students for the 2005-
2006 academic year. Prospective
and returning students are being
notified about tiiis significant
change. Students will be refund
ed their deposits as well as given refeiral assis
tance in case they wish to attend another insti
tution. Registration and orientation is Sept. 12-
13.
Tliomas G. Robinson, chairman of the school’s
board of trustees, said the school eliminated
housing to reduce expenses that would drain
academic programs,
“Eliminating this expense will save approxi-
matdy $1 million and will allow us to focus our
time and resources on strengthening our acad
emic program while we continue to pursue new
funding streams and seek restoration of our
accreditation,” Robinson said in a statement. ‘It
is important that this 138 year old historically
black college remain open to students while at
the same time, regain a solid financial footing.”
President Gloria Bromell-Tinubu said “the
devastating loss of accreditation in June of2004
set in motion a chain reaction of negative
events, including the loss of federal funding and
a major reduction in student enrollment. By
scaling back, the College plans to continue serv
ing students while exploring new ideas — such
as a planned focus on business administration,
entrepreneurship, and distance learning — to
restore the College’s long-term viability.”
Barber-Scotia is getting help fium profession
al consultants whose costs have been under
written by the Presbyterian Church USA. An
action plan and multi-year timetable for meet
ing strategic goals is in the works, officials say
“The board and the administration are opti
mistic about the future of the college with this
plan of action,” Robinson said.
“Our constituents are eager for us to return to
the prestigious past Barber-Sx)tia College once
had,” Tinubu said. “Tb do so, we must patient
ly scale down and find other me.anfl to become
viable.”
UN chief brings attention to Niger
Continued from page 1A
rent epidemic of acute malnu
trition in Niger, and its
response continues to be inad
equate.”
Annan did not respond
directly to the criticism, say
ing only “I was very
impressed with what MSF is
trying to do in
Niger.”
Marcus Prior,
a U-N-. official
with the World
Food Program
in Niger,
expressed sur
prise at the
group’s cri
tique.
‘We woik very closely with
them in our operations here
and are surprised these con
cerns weren’t raised in
Zinder,” he said We need to
focus (m doing what is most
important for the people in
Niger, which is rolling out fi:ee
food distribution in the vil
lages as widely and as quickly
as possible.”
Annan
An estimated 3.6 million
people are going hungry in
Niger alone. TTie United
Nations says at least 1.6 mil
lion people in Mali, Burkina
Faso and Mauritania are also
affected
Niger’s government and the
United Nations issued largely
ignored appeals for aid start
ing in November and top U.N.
officials criticized donors for
their failure to help. Earlier
this month, U.N. agencies
increased their appeal§ to a
total of $75 million for Niger.
In its statement, Medecins
Sans Frontieres said U.N.
food distributions were ‘riot
reaching those with the great
est needs, especially children
under five years of age in the
worst-affected areas.”
Trie group also said the cri
sis appeared to be worsening
in some places. It said one of
its emergency feeding caters
had admitted 1,053 children
Aug. 8-14, compared to 403
for all of July
Before flying to the capital,
Niamey, Annan visited the
village of Madara, nine miles
north of Zinda*. People told
Annan they are too poor to
buy food, which has become
drastically more expensive
because of the shortages.
‘We’re hungry, even if the
government doesn’t want to
hear it,” one villager, Abdou
Uliassou, told Trie Associated
Press. We want the interna
tional community to keep
helping us.”
Niger’s president drew criti
cism finm opposition leaders
after declaring that his people
“look well-fed,” despite the
pictures of malnourished
babies that have streamed
out of the impoverished
nation for weeks.
Thnt^a acknowledged food
shortages, but said they were
relatively normal for the
nations of the Sahel, a region
of arid scrubland that strad
dles the southern edge of the
Sahara Desert.
Association of Educators,
which represents about
70,000 workers, also sought
a 5 percent raise, and they
appear to fair better than the
state employees in the final
budget.
Public school teachers got
an average 2.24 percent
raise, but the budget also
includes another $85 million
this year to boost teacher
salaries in response to last
year’s Leandro school fund
ing ruling. Trie extra money
equates to an average 2 per
cent raise, if given across the
board.
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