Bargaining updates

Posted on June 9, 2023 by AFT 2121

Faculty deserve better

Thanks to everyone who came to our open bargaining session on 6/6. The room was nearly packed! Jane Ernstthal from Student Health and Jimmy Collins from Athletics made compelling presentations about the need for increased salaries and the specific situations in their departments. David Martin’s team finally addressed most of AFT’s proposals but their responses were, frankly, insulting.

They proposed:

Management can force faculty to perform online assignments from campus.
Faculty cannot be assigned 100% online, exceptions allowed only with the VC or dean sign-off.
No commitment to a timeline to address unsafe working conditions such as extreme cold.
Restrictions on counselors’ compensatory hours.
And more! You can see all the proposals and tentative agreements here.

Dueling salary proposals

David Martin’s salary proposal was another gesture of disrespect toward faculty. Instead of acknowledging the budget surplus and large state COLAs, David’s team claimed that the college is “breaking even”. John al-Amin, VC of finance, even said he can’t calculate this year’s expenditures because he doesn’t yet know how much utilities will cost, even though he also admitted that this is only 1.5% of the total budget. He did confirm there will be a surplus, but argued that despite having 11 months of actuals he still can’t say if it’ll be a “huge surplus or a small surplus.”

The bargaining team prepared this comparison of the status quo, AFT’s salary proposal, and the DIstrict’s proposal:

Proposal comparison

With actuals in hand, we know the district ran a $7 million surplus in 20-21; they then ran an additional roughly $10 million surplus in 21-22, on the backs of our concessions, while transferring an additional roughly $7 million to slush funds. This year, they’re on track to run a $10-15 million surplus again, while again transferring over $10 million to slush funds. They can afford better and faculty deserve better.

Now is the time for unity

Bargaining works best when David’s team sees the faculty in the room– you are the strength behind our words. Unified, we will win the salaries and working conditions we deserve and the college our communities need. The next two sessions are scheduled for 6/13 and 6/20. Come see and hear David Martin’s team, learn the facts about AFT’s proposals, and connect with the AFT 2121 team. During our caucuses we will discuss negotiations, address your concerns, and answer your questions. All members are welcome!