Negotiations Update
We had a long meeting with the District team today, where we presented one counterproposal and they presented three counterproposals. We also engaged in discussion about numerous issues.
Appendix F (Reassigned Time and Stipends)
We presented a counterproposal for Appendix F, and the District was able to respond after they caucused during the meeting. While we did not receive additional positions we were requesting in this round, we have reached agreement on some clarifying language and notation and are hopefully close to reaching agreement related to how PT faculty are compensated for reassigned time positions.
Article 15 (Compensation)
The District presented their second counterproposal, which included their final response to our proposal for faculty raises--0%. While the District is not willing to consider faculty raises beyond the already negotiated COLA for this reopener, we have already begun developing our strategy to further prioritize faculty raises for 24/25, and we are reviewing aspects of the District response. However, we have made significant gains in Article 15 already, including major improvements for faculty who teach in disciplines that do not require master’s degrees for MQs. The improvements will allow our faculty colleagues (FT and PT) to apply to have licensures and trainings as well as industry work experience counted towards grade advancement. We also finally gained increased paid PT faculty office hours (more details to come once the article is TAed) and improvements to PT Faculty Senator compensation. Additionally, independent study courses will be compensated via Time and Effort reports (previously, independent study courses were unpaid load for faculty). We look forward to hopefully reaching final agreement with the District on this article soon, and are extremely eager to continue fighting for faculty compensation.
Article 20 (Working Conditions)
The District presented their second counterproposal, bringing this article close to final agreement. We succeeded in pushing back against the District’s initial interest in having Deans approve all FT faculty schedules by clarifying the role of department chairs in collaborating with Deans on scheduling, extending access to webcams and cameras in PT office spaces, and clarifying notice to faculty of changes in operational hours. Importantly, we will have some changes to the PT prioritization system that may help improve accuracy and ease of generating lists.
Discussion:
Anticipated MOUs related to individual faculty situations that are expected at our next meeting
Need for scheduling of separate meetings for issues related to CALM and calendar
Anticipated drafts from the District of the new Workplace Violence Prevention Program
The presentations today bring us even closer to finalizing negotiations on this round for 23/24 reopeners. We next meet with the District on April 25 and hope to be able to TA on the remaining open items. Once all open items are TAed, PFF members will vote on ratification before the items go to the Governing Board for approval. Emails will be sent to all faculty when that process is imminent.