While forcing its 180,000 employees to take unpaid days off and cutting $813 million from its budget, the UC Board of Regents last month quietly approved increases in pay and benefits for 28 executive positions.

At its July 15 meeting in San Franciso, the board OK'd more than $500,000 in additional compensation to executives from various campuses.

The board also approved the creation of two executive positions at UCSF.

UC officials have said that the increases are needed to keep salaries competitive with other universities'.

The additional responsibilities some executives have taken on because of staffing cuts also require extra pay, officials said.

"When a position is combined or someone is serving in an acting position, they get a stipend in addition to their original salary," said Lynne Tierney, UC associate vice president of communications.

But some union leaders are calling the pay hikes and perks unfair, arguing they are getting paid less for more work while executives who take on more responsibilities are still compensated for doing so.

"We're all doing extra work," said Tanya Smith, president of the local chapter of the University Professional and Technical Employees union, which represents 12,000 UC employees. "And we're getting furloughs."

Union leaders are considering opening up a vote of no confidence for UC President Mark Yudof because of the situation, Smith said.

Tierney said the salary hikes are necessary to retain top talent at a time when the UC system is in such a critical situation.

"You can't run a $19 billion corporation and support 180,000 employees by not paying people who can go someplace else," she said. "I think the union members would feel the same way. If people could get higher pay somewhere else, they would."

The executives who are getting increases in benefits and salaries are also subject to furloughs.

Those who secure the 12 executive positions approved in July that pay more than $240,000 will still be forced to take 26 days off, equal to a 10 percent salary cut.

So far this year, the board has approved salary and benefit increases for approximately 30 executive positions.

Many of these approvals raised salaries for newly hired executives to higher amounts than those of their predecessors.

In July, the board approved a 59 percent increase for Teri Schwartz, UCLA's dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television, from her predecessor's salary of $203,800 to $325,000.

Smith said the university's compensation standards are misdirected.

"If you have the kind of infrastructure and support and the kind of faculty who inspire, students will be attracted," she said. "But if you say all the money goes to the top ... I'm not sure who are you attracting."

Tags: UPTE, EXECUTIVE STIPENDS