SPRING 2017 CONTRACT GAINS
Faculty get 1.56% COLA increase for 2017/18.
“Lookback” Agreement includes: 1) continuation of 2.68% beyond 2017-18. 2) 2% one-time bonusFaculty will see a 1.56% on-schedule salary increase for 2017/18 under our current 2015-18 contract, which requires passing on to faculty the State’s 1.56% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Those who work full-time will see the increase beginning with the coming July 28 paycheck. Those who work part-time will see the COLA on the August paycheck with retro pay for any work performed in July. Overload assignments and retro will also be paid in August.
“Lookback” Tentative Agreement
Making sure that faculty continue to receive on-going salary increases to our base pay is a priority. A critical component of this new Lookback tentative agreement is that the 2.68% that was going to be eliminated after June 2016 will continue as part of our ongoing base salary!
Beyond this continuation of the 2.68% faculty will also receive an off-schedule, one-time payment to current faculty equal to 2% of 2016/17 earnings. The 2% bonus will be paid to faculty after final approval of the agreement at the August Board of Trustees meeting. Payroll is working to have the bonus payment ready for the August payroll.
AFT’s newly-elected bargaining team met over the summer to begin preparations for our upcoming contract campaign and negotiations for a new contract, which commence this Fall. We plan on distributing faculty surveys on Flex Day, while AFT reps will be setting up “listening sessions” at various sites to discuss contract issues and priorities.
MEMBERSHIP IS THE BEDROCK OF OUR STRENGTH
Preparing for Trump attacks against Fair Share.
How have we achieved victories against the ACCJC, for Free City and improvements in faculty pay? Your active participation along with your membership dues sustain our collective power. We need our energy and finances to remain strong to continue to win increases in pay, and to fight for quality public education for all. In order to keep our Union strong, everyone needs to pay their Fair Share.
Currently all faculty pay their fair share, either through dues or fees. But under the anti-union, anti-worker Trump administration, labor is under attack. We know that the increasingly conservative Supreme Court, with newly appointed Justice Gorsuch will move to end the Fair Share fees that we count on to keep up the struggle for better wages and working conditions. Making sure that we make a commitment to each other by becoming and remaining Fair Share members is crucial for our success.
The gains we’ve made in our contract campaign, our fight against the ACCJC, and for Free City were made possible by collectively pooling our resources, including Union dues. We know that right-wing groups will be running campaigns to push Union members to drop their membership. In other states that lost Fair Share the Koch brothers sent letters to union members telling them they’d be better off financially if they cancelled their union membership. This shortsighted view serves the interests of the Koch brothers and their right-wing allies and damages public service workers like us, and the people, the students and community we serve.
This fall, we will ask all faculty to sign a new membership form. We need to ensure that we have everyone’s membership documented. We need to have the conversations with our colleagues and make sure about membership as the keystone of our strength. Please come to Flex day ready to sign a new AFT 2121 membership form. Consider it an act of resistance. The bottom line is clear: we are all much better off with strong union membership.
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