February 7, 2008
Then and Now: The Professional Staff Organization at 20 years
This school year, University Week, the UW campus newspaper for faculty and staff, turns 25. To note the occasion, throughout the year we’ll revisit some stories from our past, in no particular chronological order, and then provide a brief update on how things have changed over our quarter-century.
The story ran on page three of our Jan 14, 1988 issue, under the headline “No longer exempt, staffers also see vacation changes.”
The article began with a flourish, “With the stroke of a pen on Dec. 10, President William P. Gerberding changed the name of the University’s Exempt Staff Personnel Program to the Professional Staff Personnel Program.
“But the name change is only one step in a review of the program, which covers about 1,000 UW employees, including research technicians, counselors, continuing education specialists, administrators and other diverse groups.”
Professional Staff members also saw the time it takes to earn the maximum vacation leave of 22 days in a year shortened, from 16 years to eight.
It was at that same time that the Professional Staff Organization (PSO) was born, representing those 1,000 employees. Now, 20 years later, there are 6,800 professional staff at the UW, and thus in the PSO.
Bob Roseth, director of the UW News & Information Office, was the organization’s first president. He recalled, “The PSO was founded out of a palpable sense of frustration among professional staff who felt, by overwhelming numbers, that they were not adequately represented on campus in decision making or in Olympia when salary increases were decided.”
Since then, he said, “The situation has changed markedly. Although professional staff are not formally part of shared governance, our input is solicited on many issues where professional staff will be affected or where we have important expertise that can result in better decision making. In Olympia, the UW administration has consistently advocated for competitive salaries for all employees.”
The organization’s current president is Elizabeth Campbell, executive assistant to the vice president of Computing & Communications — recently renamed UW Technology. Campbell noted the organization’s current activities.
“The board has been busy this year developing the organization’s mission, vision and values statements. We are also in the process of revamping our Web site. PSO continues to explore collaboration opportunities with our campus partners. One example of this is the Dispute Resolution Resource Panel PSO will host on Feb. 26 (rescheduled from Jan. 29).”
The PSO also is active in professional development on campus, offering scholarships of up to $350 for individuals and up to $500 for groups. The deadline for Spring Quarter scholarships and grants is March 15.
Unlike the Faculty Senate Office, PSO does not receive any central funding or support. Sadly, for all the work the organization does, only 244 professional staff regularly pay dues. That’s about 3.6 percent.
For more information about the Professional Staff Organization, visit online at http://depts.washington.edu/psoweb/.
