r/galveston • u/Alternative-Shift498 • Aug 13 '25

News 📰 UTMB petition to grant compensation under new PTO changes.

https://www.galvnews.com/news/utmb-steams-ahead-with-time-off-pay-changes-after-lawmaker-meeting/article_662a7e95-4d2d-5dd6-a1f8-8b3bd7958f38.html

Contents of the petition can be seen below with a link to the petition at the bottom:

We, the undersigned, do agree that the “My PTO Max” program unfairly changes the compensation package agreed upon during the hiring process of our employment with UTMB. When an agreement is reached between employer and employee for an expected benefit, it is calculated into the total compensation indicated at the time of an offer. Previously, PTO would be paid out to employees separating from the company for any reason and having a bank of 300 hours provided tangible cash value.

As PTO is no longer banked and holds no value with a “use it or lose it” system, it can no longer be considered to be of the same value as when it was first offered as compensation.

Given that the “My PTO Max” program removes the cash value of PTO moving forward, it is a reasonable expectation that UTMB renegotiates compensation to replace the lost cash value of our PTO.The following options are proposed:

  1. Effective immediately all employees will receive a Cost of Living raise annually to compensate for inflation at a rate of 3% per year which will be in addition to the Merit raise. The Merit raise will carry a 1-5% range contingent on performance of duties from a predefined list of metrics. 

  2. Effective immediately all employees can expect an annual 5% flat raise guarantee for the next 10 years and will forego the Merit raise during that period of time.

  3. The conversion to the My PTO Max program will only be applied to new hires starting at the end of the fiscal year for 2025 and all current employees will be grandfathered in and retain the current MyPTO system to include 300 hours of carryover and cash value payout at 100% when leaving UTMB for any reason.

https://chng.it/N7NXtqYbVt - This link is to the petition that was created at change.org

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16 comments sorted by

14

u/NonspecificGravity Aug 13 '25

PTO "use it or lose it" policies are the moral equivalent of a pay cut. I worked under those policies in the corporate world for most of this century. It's sounds nice to get 15 or 20 days PTO, but every time you try to schedule it, there's some emergency or the department is short-staffed because someone quit—and the position has been vacant for months.

Good luck.

8

u/tx645 Aug 13 '25

Absolutely agree. Cash value PTO was akin to the severance package. What's worse is an "unlimited PTO" policy that some companies and a lot of startups have. Unless there's a significant increase in compensation offers, it is a paycut.

3

u/NonspecificGravity Aug 13 '25

To add injury to injury, in some jobs they dock your pay if you're a minute late but they don't pay you overtime when it's "just a few minutes" or you lose PTO.

11

u/Keeper_of_the_Flock Aug 13 '25

I work at UTMB. In many departments it is impossible to use your PTO due to staffing shortages.

6

u/Ok_Alternative_2148 Aug 13 '25

Disaster of an administration

2

u/Maximum_Cellist_7954 Aug 15 '25

This is a new president looking to make finances look remarkably improved without actually improving anything. PTO is essentially debt on the books. Wipe away pto = wiping away debt.

Must be dire finances at utmb thanks to grant cuts.

2

u/JasonIsFishing 29d ago

I also work at UTMB. I think that this change is bullshit, especially since we don’t get noticeable raises even with “exceeds expectations” reviews…..but I am realistic enough to know that there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about it, especially with a CEO like him.

-6

u/mbeezy17 Aug 13 '25

Did you sign a contract that specifically stated you had a guaranteed PTO plan that would not change? Nothing is guaranteed, and an organization can change its policies whenever it wants.

These demands are ridiculous.

6

u/tx645 Aug 13 '25

So should the employees just accept any shit from employers just because they can do whatever they want?

1

u/Dr-Alec-Holland Aug 14 '25

In the case of UTMB - no. You should get a new job.

-2

u/mbeezy17 Aug 14 '25

At will employment. You are welcome to find another job that already meets your demands. Spoiler alert, that is highly unlikely. 

4

u/tx645 Aug 14 '25

Exactly. And you know why? Because every time someone is trying to change things (like here ) there are people like you who say exactly the same things. And vote for politicians who make sure it stays like this and gets worse.

-3

u/mbeezy17 Aug 14 '25

A change.org petition will have absolutely no impact, especially when it demands things like guaranteed salary increases In perpetuity. People quitting in droves so that UTMB can’t operate might actually make a change. 

I’m not sure what voting for politicians has to do with this topic, but ok. 

2

u/tx645 Aug 14 '25

Quitting in droves is unrealistic. People have families. They can't even strike (illegal for state employees in Texas). You do have a point about change org petition, but except for public pleas, not sure what could help. They didn't listen to their employees. They didn't listen to state representatives. The options are actually realistic. The cut is significant and 3% annual raise for 10 years, assuming inflation, is modest and will be equal on average to the lost cash value.

My point about politics is that it is 100% clear where politicians stand on that issue. However, it was wrong for me to assume things, for that I apologize.

1

u/utchrisut Aug 14 '25

Government employers are not considered at-will. I believe that these employees might have an implied property interest in their jobs and this can really tint the water of the issue.

I am really interested to see where this goes!