Yesterday at noon, about three dozen Cornell workers and students gathered in front of Day Hall carrying signs that read “Cornell workers deserve a fair contract” and cheered as passing buses and cars honked in agreement.

“What do we want? Fair contract! When do we want it? Now!” yelled participants in the rally. “When working families are under attack what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

The University announced on Friday that it accepted all 423 Cornell employees who applied to participate in the optional Staff Retirement Incentive Program.

The SRI, which has originally publicized in February, aimed to reduce the size of the University’s workforce. Personnel costs for the University’s more than 10,000 employees comprise 60 percent of Cornell’s operating budget, according to Vice President for Human Resources Mary Opperman.

The University currently faces a shortfall of approximately $230 million in its operating budget.

Opperman said that the University will save money by eliminating “a majority” of the positions vacated by the 423 employees.

Today marks the deadline to apply for the Staff Retirement Incentive program. Engineered and implemented earlier this month, the program was a “one-time-only” opportunity for staff to apply to retire early, in an effort to help alleviate excess financial strain on the University.

We saw the incentive plan as an appropriate gesture. Predicting massive layoffs, the University gave staff the chance to reconsider retiring amidst the financial turmoil in exchange for an “enhanced contribution” to the employee’s retirement fund in addition to a lump-sum payment.

The College of Human Ecology had no inclination as to any future benefits when it was given three days notice that it had to abandon the old north wing of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall eight years ago. In 2001, the college effectively lost 30 percent of its space that it used for academic, research and outreach programs when the north wing of MVR was determined to have structural deficiencies, according to John Lamson, assistant dean of communications for Human Ecology.

President David J. Skorton gave his annual address to staff yesterday at Barton Hall. The speech came in the middle of the Energy Fair, whose organizers took a lunch break while University personnel gathered to hear Skorton discuss the state of the University and how staff will be affected by the recent economic crisis. The address was sponsored by the Employee Assembly, an elected body that represents Cornell staff.

Kicking off the staff meeting was Brian Cornell, chair of the Employee Assembly, who welcomed the audience and introduced Mary George Opperman, vice president of human resources. Opperman discussed her personal concerns over how staff and the University will fare amidst the financial turmoil.

President David J. Skorton requested the crowd who gathered to listen his second annual staff address yesterday afternoon in Alice Statler Auditorium to call him “David.” The only exceptions, he noted, were the vice presidents in the audience who he requested to say, “Good afternoon, Your Immenseness” in exchange for their salaries. The laughter that followed set the tone for the next hour, which included both Skorton’s speech and his responses to a compilation of questions and concerns of Cornell employees.

Skorton’s speech was filled with praise for the Cornell community’s recent and upcoming achievements, awards and projects. He noted the ever-unfinished nature of success and the often under-appreciated role of Cornell employees in these institutional successes.