DAILY LOBO new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
WEDNESDAY August 27, 2014 | Volume 119 | Issue 9
Union staff pay raise delayed for four weeks By Daniel Montaño Union staff employees missed out on nearly four weeks of a pay raise, and UNM officials said Human Resources does not plan to reimburse the lost wages. All UNM staff members who are not a part of the union started receiving their raise on July 1, according to University officials, however because contract negotiations between the University and the United Staff at UNM were ongoing, union members were unable to receive the pay increase. All university staff members were guaranteed a 1.9 percent raise by the New Mexico Legislature in
February, and the Board of Regents voted to increase the raise to 2.5 percent in late March. Jeanette Albany, a union member and administrative assistant for the Communication and Journalism Department, said she contacted the staff council, the union and Human Resources after receiving her first reduced check and did not receive any explanation as to why her check was lessened. All she knew was that she did not receive her promised pay raise and was paying more in deductions, she said. “They were taking all that out, but we didn’t get our raise, so I got a net loss, a decline in my
pay,” she said. Albany’s situation is not an isolated incident. University officials said there are 879 employees in the bargaining unit between UNM and the United Staff at UNM, and those who were in active status with continuous employment as of Jan. 1 and still active in July were subject to the change in pay. Union officials did not comment prior to the publication of this article but said they would release a statement to members in the upcoming weeks. In addition, union members’ paychecks actually decreased because of an unrelated increase in contributions to the employee
retirement fund, which went into effect July 1, according University officials. However, because of contract negotiations, union members did not receive the raise until the pay period beginning July 26, the first period after the contract was signed — nearly four weeks after the rest of UNM staff, according to a statement from UNM. Because of the sensitive nature of contract negotiations, both union and University officials could not comment on the details of negotiations, why negotiations lasted as long as they did and why the contract was not signed until late July. University officials confirmed
that it would not be retroactively paying the union members for their raise because negotiations dictate when pay changes for union members go into effect. Almost $184 million was allocated by the state legislature in February to fund the pay raise, according to the New Mexico legislative briefing from February 20. UNM did not comment on where the excess funds that were withheld from union members would be allocated. Daniel Montaño is a news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
UNM Growers’ Market sprouts love of produce student to produce miniseries By Moriah Carty A UNM student has emerged from television extra to the limelight as an accomplished director. Nick Nelson, a fine arts student, moved from an extra in “Breaking Bad” to a producer of his own miniseries. The series started as a classroom assignment titled “The End Begins,” and he has recently been contacted by 20th Century Fox to continue the miniseries. “When I first got on with [Breaking Bad], I was just an extra,” Nelson said. “I was given some speaking lines, which wasn’t used.” “Breaking Bad” took him on to do standing work, and eventually was able to do some production work in the Marvel Studios film “The Avengers,” he said, and it was at that point he realized he enjoyed being behind the camera instead of being an actor. After finding his calling, Nelson wrote his own script for a classroom assignment, which ended up being so successful he turned it into a miniseries, he said. Besides the success he has found, Nelson said his favorite part of the entire experience has been filming. “My favorite part would have been filming the escape scene. There’s an escape scene in the first episode, and we filmed it near my house in Jemez,” Nelson said. Nelson and his crew spent an entire Saturday driving around, acting out chase scenes and practicing being shot at, he said. Scenes similar to this were inspired by some of his favorite ‘80s action and sci-fi films. “The idea came from growing up on ‘Red Dawn,’ ‘Robocop,’ the ‘Aliens,’ ‘Terminator,’ ‘Good Fellas,’” Nelson said. “‘The End Begins’ is an invasion movie, so that’s where the whole thing gets started from, and then the whole thing with machines and technology, I got that from ‘Terminator.’” The names of his cast are all
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Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo
Mary Macias, a local farmer, sets up her produce early Tuesday morning at the Albuquerque Uptown Grower’s Market, located at Presbyterian Hospital. Macias and other vendors are part of an initiative to foster positive economic relationships between local buyers and farmers by accepting various modes of payments such as WIC, Senior Checks, EBT and Debit.
By Matthew Reisen and Daniel Montaño Low income students can double their money at a UNM-area market. Nancy Erickson, manager of Albuquerque Growers’ Market at Presbyterian, said her market price matches any EBT or SNAP purchases up to $20, doubling the amount of food those customers can purchase. The market, which is located in the northeast corner of the Downtown Presbyterian Hospital parking lot, focuses on providing excellent food from local growers, she said. “I have a deep appreciation for fresh local food that goes back as far as I can remember”, she said. The market has been operating for three years, every Tuesday from 7 a.m. until noon, and offers various local produce and crafts, all made by
those who call New Mexico home, she said. The market was established with a grant from Presbyterian hospital to assist low income New Mexicans, Erickson said. The customers who use the market vary from seniors to students and even hospital employees, Erickson said. Marie Brown Wagner, a physician at Presbyterian, has been a regular customer since last summer, she said. Wagner heard about the market through her work at the hospital, where they advertise for Erickson and her vendors, Wagner said. The farmers’ market works great for someone on a budget with a busy schedule, Brown said.
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Albuquerque Growers’ Market at Presbyterian 1100 Central Ave. S.E., in the northeast end of the parking lot Every Tuesday 7 a.m. until noon June 24 through October. Fresh produce from local growers The market will price match up to $20 of any purchase made with SNAP or EBT.