Bargaining on June 2 & 3 covered several topics

The Faculty and Administration bargaining teams met for a total of about 7 hours during bargaining sessions held June 2 and June 3.

The Faculty team said discussions at the two sessions covered several topics, including the contract language related to non-discrimination/affirmative action (Art. 2), and portions of the contract articles that describe faculty workload and office hours (Art. 9), the faculty role in governance (Art. 6), selection and hiring (Art. 7), and other sections of the contract.

The two teams reached agreement on changes/clarifications to some of the benefits language in Art. 12, as well as agreement on some items in Art. 3 (relationship between the parties).

Faculty Chief Negotiator Greg Klein said, “We’re making progress in some areas, such as examining concerns about safety and remote work, but we have not completed those discussions. Also, the two teams are quite far apart in our exchanges regarding a few other issues.”

“There’s still plenty of time for additional discussion and resolution of differences before our Unit 1 and Unit 2 contracts expire in late August– so we look forward to continuing the conversation with the Administration team when bargaining resumes on June 17,” Greg added.

“The Faculty Team remains committed to exploring options for a new contract that will enhance the success of our students and the College as a whole,” Greg said.

“However, it’s been more than three years since our last comprehensive contract negotiations, and a number of important faculty concerns need to be addressed before we can reach a new agreement,” Greg said.

Bargaining sessions are paused from now through June 16 to accommodate various schedules. Bargaining will resume on June 17 and June 18.

During the next two weeks, AAUP Bargaining Council committees on Compensation and Professional Enrichment will be continuing to work on research and data-gathering, leading to recommendations that will be shared with the AAUP officers and bargaining team.

Faculty members with questions or concerns can reach out to AAUP Chapter President Pam Ecker or to the AAUP Bargaining Council co-chairs, Marianne Niese and Jessi Loomis.