We have a win to report in the midst of these tough times. Your Impacts Bargaining Team has continued to negotiate with the District about the impacts of COVID, and after months of pushing, your team is happy to confirm that the District will now provide the equipment necessary to work at home.
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Our agreement addresses the college’s responsibility to provide technological equipment to faculty who have been working remotely for nearly a year, and to reimburse those faculty who had to purchase their own equipment at the beginning of the pandemic. You can read the full agreement here.
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Your Department Chair and Dean determine the equipment you need. You should request equipment from ITS via the HelpDesk. Your request will go through a review process that includes Chairs and Deans. Once approved, you’ll be issued the laptop, webcam, specialized software, etc. The equipment remains the property of the District and you’ll need to return it at the end of the academic year, or at the end of your assignment with the college, whichever is longer. This process is basically what was in place before COVID.
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The District has also confirmed that ITS is committed to stocking enough computers to supply faculty whose equipment breaks and who are in immediate need. This would be a “loaner” until your requested equipment comes in.
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If you purchased equipment to do your job during the initial scramble to work remotely, we also now have an agreement that outlines how the District will reimburse faculty for the expense. The goal is to reimburse faculty for what the District would have purchased for them if the current process were in place and working seamlessly. Therefore, you would have had to make the purchase between April 1 and September 8, 2020.
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One important stipulation is that the limit for reimbursement is $800. If you spent more than $800 and want to be reimbursed, you will need to go through a review process involving your Chair, Dean, and ITS.
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Finally, to acknowledge that most if not all faculty spent some money on equipment needed to transition to remote instruction, all faculty are eligible for a one-time reimbursement of up to $100. You’ll need to provide receipts, but the equipment remains yours. This would also apply if you bought a laptop but wanted to keep it (not District property) – you could get up to $100 to offset that cost and you would still own the laptop. Gather your receipts and stay tuned for instructions on the reimbursement procedure.
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Any new equipment that you need or want to purchase going forward will not be reimbursed by the District. You’ll need to go through the HelpDesk/Chair/Dean request procedure.
We know a lot of you have been waiting for the news of this agreement, possibly sitting on some hefty credit card bills, or just thinking it would never come. So please start the reimbursement process if you need to, and let us know how it goes! This is important information as we work to ensure that this agreement is honored by the District.
Thanks for working so hard for our students and our community as we all make our way through this difficult time. This win is testament to the fact that we are stronger when we work together.
In Solidarity,
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