Long day of bargaining on July 27 does not resolve all issues; next session is Aug. 1

Bargaining on Thursday, July 27, started at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m. Mediator Joe Wilson attended the session along with the Faculty and Administration bargaining teams.

After the session ended, the Faculty Bargaining Team worked for nearly two hours to start preparing for the next bargaining session, which is scheduled for Tuesday, August 1.

Faculty Team member Pam Ecker said, “Thursday was an exceptionally long day, and we really appreciated the boost provided by all of the faculty who turned out to greet us as we arrived for the bargaining session. The team sends a big thank-you to everyone who was there to show support!”

“We made progress on some of the workload and compensation issues,” Pam said. “However, our team is concerned about the significant gaps that still exist between Faculty and Administration proposals for some very important issues that aren’t yet resolved.”

“We still don’t know if we will be able to reach an agreement with the administration at the bargaining table, or whether the unresolved issues will need to be presented to a neutral fact-finder (appointed by the State Employment Relations Board) who will make recommendations for a possible settlement,” Pam added.

Faculty Team Co-leader Julie McLaughlin said, “The Faculty Team will continue working hard between now and next Tuesday on possible ways to reach an acceptable agreement at the bargaining table. We hope that on Tuesday, with the mediator in attendance, the Administration Team will also be willing to take the steps that are needed to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion.”