Layoff plan lists 7 merit employees

Back in May, the University was first beginning to understand the depth of the reductions in the budget coming from the Iowa legislature. Human resources asked colleges and departments about restructuring plans that would result in eliminating or reducing positions.

Using the resulting lists, 11 HR staff members, including eight WorkLife consultants, began trying to find alternatives for the 41 merit and 15 P&S employees whose positions were identified for reduction or elimination. Now, nearly three months later, the number of merit employees who may be laid off has been reduced to seven. The proposed layoff plan listing these seven employees went to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, in July. About 11 employees remain on the P&S list and continue to seek other positions while they remain employed.

Lyra Dickerson, UI assistant director of human resources, credits the whole University community with reducing the number of people adversely affected. "My office works hard to find new jobs for displaced employees, but we're just the conduit. It's the departments and the employees who make everything happen."

Of the seven merit staff on the list, two already have found other positions, one outside the University. Remaining on the list gives them certain rights in case a new job opens up that matches their job description.

No one has yet been laid off, and everyone on the list is still working because the restructuring plan isn't final until the Regents approve it.

"This campus takes care of its own," Dickerson says. "I see it day in and day out. A grant ends or a department changes its structure. And when University staff members have to look for new jobs, they have a lot of support. During this summer's extraordinary circumstance, with 41 jobs lost or reduced, departments have been cooperative and employees have been flexible and receptive to new opportunities."

Robin Ellis, a clerk III who had worked for 15 years in respiratory care at UIHC, learned one Monday in May that her position would be terminated.

"They told me not to worry," she said. "There were other jobs in the hospital."

That afternoon, Ellis received a packet from UIHC staff relations and on Tuesday, she applied for a job in otolaryn- gology. On Wednesday, she learned her experience and seniority had gotten her the job. She says she likes her work.

"Of course, not every story can have such a happy ending," Dickerson says. "Even though most of our people have found new work, and our list is smaller, this whole process is upsetting for everyone. We're hopeful that before the layoff date, everyone on the list will find work and that we don't have to do this again anytime soon."

Article by Charles S. Drum