Still no compensation proposal from district | progress made in some areas

Posted on August 20, 2015 by AFT 2121

The District still had no response to our compensation proposal and they gave no compensation proposal of their own. While we also had significant difference over the District’s Faculty Evaluation proposal there was some positive movement in other areas.

Progress was made on Article 25 concerning Categorical Employees. The District agreed in principle to (1) merge categorical sick leave with sick leave under General Fund assignments; (2) extend eligibility for the Voluntary Sick Leave Bank (VSLB); (3) extend reemployment preference rights to categorical assignments; (4) address our proposal regarding vesting of full-time categorical employees in retiree health benefits later on in its proposal over OPEB contributions and compensation.

The District’s proposal on FSA’s, Faculty Service Areas, necessary for determining competency areas in case of layoff of full-time faculty or to determine where faculty are able to teach/work outside their discipline, was discussed. We acknowledged the need for such procedures and competency criteria as addressed in the District proposal and look forward to making further progress.

We objected to the District’s proposal on Faculty Evaluation to trigger Peer-Management evaluations due to faculty conduct “outside the classroom” that was potentially disciplinary. The District said their intent was not to include non work-related conduct or to be punitive. Discussion focused on how evaluators could assess faculty performance on criteria that are not necessarily observed but are in the evaluation procedure, e.g. grade and other reporting, SLO assessments, course syllabuses, etc. As for proposed changes in the role of Chairs/Deans in the evaluation process, we will consult with the Department Chairpersons’ Council (DCC) to determine if the changes are consistent with their contractual responsibilities/roles.

We will also consult with the Academic Senate on both the proposed changes in faculty evaluation procedures and FSA’s in developing our response and counter-proposals to the District.

In Unity,

AFT 2121 Negotiations Team