UT workers protest outsourcing possibility
Facilities workers at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville were joined by students, faculty and others from the Knoxville community Monday as they rallied to protest plans to potentially outsource facilities jobs on campus.
A news release from United Campus Workers, the union representing facilities workers at UT, said the protest was organized to coincide with the start of a new academic year and “send a clear message: keep our jobs on campus.”
About 200 people showed up to protest the outsourcing plan, an initiative of Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration that seeks to privatize the work of facilities employees at public colleges and universities across the state.
“The chancellor is going to make a decision on this issue soon, so we just wanted to let her know that her campus community, which is now back on campus for the fall, is really standing behind her to opt out,” said Sarah Eldgride, an assistant professor of modern languages and a member of United Campus Workers.
Campuses have the choice to “opt in” to a contract the state already has in place with Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, a company that already manages about 10 percent of other state facilities.
The state says the plan will bring cost savings and that current campus workers will be
able to keep their jobs with the same benefits and pay. But workers have voiced concerns about a loss of benefits, loss of local oversight and reduced services.
Susan Williams, an administrative specialist in the philosophy department at UT-Knoxville, spoke at Monday’s rally saying her husband, who up until recently worked in facilities management, decided to leave his job rather than face the uncertainty of what would happen under outsourcing.
“People don’t know what will happen to their benefits, their retirement,” Williams said. “Nothing has been said about whether we would get to keep the educational benefits program for our families. So there’s a lot of uncertainty and I think it’s hurt the morale of the university because people just don’t know what’s going to happen. You can’t come to work every day and have a positive attitude and think you might not have a job in a few weeks.”
Chancellor Beverly Davenport said Friday that no decision has been made on whether the Knoxville campus will join the state’s contract with JLL. A spokeswoman for the UT system also said other campuses have not made decisions yet either.
“We anticipate that decision will be soon, but I must tell you it is one of the most complex and involved decision-making processes that I’ve seen,” Davenport said.
Haslam has said the plan could save the state more than $35 million annually and the state finalized a contract with JLL in May despite lawmakers urging for the process to be slowed down.
There is no timeline for when campuses must make decisions.
In the meantime, opposition to the plan has been widespread within the UT community.
A total of 22 local business leaders that have contracts with UT also sent a letter to Davenport this summer encouraging her not to opt into the plan.
The letter said outsourcing would likely mean the university would cut off ties with local businesses in favor of working with JLL subcontractors and other out-of-state companies.