The President of the UW System is calling on lawmakers to approve larger salary increases for faculty and academic staff.
A legislative panel on Tuesday approved five-percent in pay hikes for non-union UW employees, which will take effect over the next 18 months. However, System President Kevin Reilly says it's still not enough to keep the UW competitive. Reilly says the UW is over eight percent behind the average salaries of its peer universities.
Reilly warned a legislative panel Tuesday that the UW will lose staff if it doesn't start raising salaries. He wants lawmakers to consider greater increases before the end of this year.
The Legislature's Joint Committee on Employment Relations also approved pay hikes totaling five-percent for thousands of non-union state employees, which will take effect over the next 18 months. Lawmakers included a 3.5 percent pay increase for themselves, which will kick in after the next election. It will bring legislative salaries above $50,000 a year.