"This will be devastating," Block said. "I recognize your concern, and my concern is that we all personally get through this and that this institution remains strong. But there is no doubt that this is going to have an impact on our salaries and an impact on our programs we offer to students. And that concerns me greatly."
Several UCLA employees on Wednesday noted the irony that they gathered in Pauley Pavilion, the nearly four-decades-old arena for which officials recently announced a $185-million renovation plan. Although more than half of that cost is to be financed by private donations, staffers wondered whether some donors might instead be persuaded to support UCLA's general finances.
"It's a luxury to replace this now, and we are not in luxurious times," said Alan Toy, associate director for UCLA's Center for Neighborhood Knowledge.
Dave Haugland, a campus sign maker and a shop steward for skilled trades workers in the State Employees' Trades Council-United, said UC employees shouldn't accept the pay cuts or furloughs without better explanations of why they are needed and larger reductions for top administrators. He said unions would go along only if UC "can prove to us that without an 8% cut, the university is going to suffer. But we're going to fight it unless they prove it."
At the California State system, meanwhile, officials have proposed furloughs of two days a month for employees at all 23 campuses. Some unions have voted to discuss the plan with the administration, but the faculty group's leaders are asking for more information.
"We're willing to do something. . . . The budget cuts are disastrous," said faculty union spokeswoman Alice Sunshine. "But we want to be sure what we're voting on."
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larry.gordon@latimes.com
Times staff writer Gale Holland contributed to this report.
