Governor Pawlenty’s budget axe fell hard on the University of Minnesota last week. For the first time ever, the university will rely more on revenue from students than from the state. That means tuition will increase 3 percent for undergraduates, many of them working class students who are already struggling to afford college. Cuts will also force the university to eliminate 5.5 percent of its workforce, or 1,240 jobs, including 370 layoffs.

Five AFSCME clerical workers addressed the Board of Regents before it passed its budget of pain on June 24. Here are highlights of their testimony.

Kem Tae Lynch, a Local 3800 member and graduate student, said that a decision to either raise tuition or layoff staff “is a false dichotomy that pits frontline staff against students. Find your cuts elsewhere so you can keep tuition affordable and retain frontline staff.”

Phyllis Walker, president of Local 3800, asked the regents to “chop from the top” instead of cutting frontline staff who “make it possible for students to navigate the complicated university system from admission to graduation.”

Kelly Alghamdi Zimmerschied, treasurer of Local 3800, enters expenses into the U’s financial system for her day job. She suggested two ways that the U could cut costs: first, cut the “Muffin Funds” and enforce policies on when it’s appropriate to provide food; and second, enforce travel expense policies.

Mary Lou Middleton, vice president of Local 3800, said “As the third largest public employer in Minnesota, the U has an obligation to retain its employees. When we’re laid off, less money is spent in the community. The hardest hit will be Crookston and Morris, where U jobs literally keep the economy going.”

Cherrene Horazuk, chief steward of Local 3800, called on the University to “take a leadership role in challenging the unallotments, and in working with the legislature to raise revenue.”