IRVINE : Librarian Alleging Bias Awarded Raise

A librarian at UC Irvine who had alleged pay discrimination because of his race has been awarded a merit raise, he said Thursday.

Chancellor Jack W. Peltason overturned a review committee’s decision and granted the merit pay raise to Daniel C. Tsang, who called the chancellor’s ruling a vindication.

Tsang’s case was one of several that led a teachers’ organization earlier this year to accuse UCI of unfairly denying promotions and pay increases to minorities and women.

“I was singled out because of my race. . . . This proves what you can do if you fight for your rights,” he said Thursday after hearing of his raise. The raise was the first for Tsang since he was hired in 1986.

In a one-paragraph letter to Tsang, Peltason said that after a “new review of your case . . . I have decided to award you a merit increase.”

The letter did not state a reason for the change in merit status, and a copy of the report will not be released, university officials said.

Peltason was out of town and unavailable for comment.

“I think it’s very difficult for (Peltason) to come right out and say there was discrimination,” said Tsang, 40.

But, he said, the chancellor’s decision proves discrimination.

In May, Tsang was denied a raise shortly after he was reprimanded for circulating among fellow employees newspaper clippings about Asians, UCI’s relationships with other universities worldwide and acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Tsang said.

He said his supervisor also took down clippings on Asian studies that Tsang had posted on a wall near his desk.

Steven MacLeod, Tsang’s immediate supervisor, could not be reached for comment.

After Tsang’s merit review, the American Federation of Teachers took his case before the administration, alleging that Tsang and other minorities and women had been unfairly denied promotions and raises.

“Daniel brought this issue to the forefront and opened the administration’s eyes to the problem,” said Sylvester Klinicke, interim president of the AFT chapter at UCI, which represents about 300 librarians and lecturers at the university. “He finally got the review that he deserved.”

Since May, most minorities and women have received fair treatment in their reviews, he said.

The chancellor’s review was the second examination of Tsang’s case. In July, a faculty hearing board found that “irrelevant and inappropriate” materials had been included in the initial review file.

Despite the chancellor’s favorable ruling, Tsang said conditions at the library have not improved much. He said he still reports to the same supervisor who reprimanded him.