The District sent an email to the college community saying they are “prepared” to negotiate with the faculty. That is news to us. As the expression goes “we are entitled to our own opinions but not to our own facts.” Here are the facts:
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We “sunshined” in February and gave a detailed list of what we were going to talk about. They delayed negotiations until mid-April after they were late “sunshining” their initial proposal.
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We continue to bring in multiple “resource” people and experts week after week. So far, they have not brought one “resource” person or expert to negotiations to present on any subject.
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We have presented on the economic losses suffered by faculty from repeated pay cuts. They had no response.
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We have presented on rebuilding our college by restoring faculty and programs. They continue to refuse to negotiate on or talk about enrollment with us.
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We keep insisting that negotiations be open to all faculty members. They continue to not let our members into the sessions.
This last week once again, the District had very little to propose in negotiations. What they did propose?
1) A single paragraph update of Nondiscrimination categories; and 2) a single sentence on faculty obligations stating that faculty “shall use their District email addresses for all District-related business and communications.”
In contrast, AFT presented detailed proposals on:
• professional development (increasing one year sabbatical leave pay, codifying step advancement while on sabbatical leave, faculty flex obligation,continuing faculty Prof. Dev. Plans)
• faculty and union rights, e.g. rights of faculty to written complaints and findings in potentially disciplinary investigations including Title V and IX complaints
• categorical employees: reemployment preference rights; lifetime health benefits for vested full-time categorical faculty
The District did respond to the AFT’s detailed information requests, setting deadlines for when it would provide detailed budget information necessary for negotiations over economic demands. AFT has sunshined demands to restore and significantly improve faculty pay. The District needs to be serious about the issues facing the college and faculty. Their lack of preparation week after week seems to reflect how seriously they take our concerns. We hope that the District in the future will come prepared so that we can get the fair contract that we deserve.
This past Tuesday the Contract Action Team (CAT) leadership met to map out actions to support AFT 2121’s proposals at the negotiating table. Our union office was packed as faculty squeezed into our conference room and developed creative strategies to demand a fair contract. The next event is a rally & press conference from noon – 1pm on Wednesday, May 13 in Ram Plaza on Ocean Campus. Get the flyer!
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