Short bargaining session on July 11 covered several topics

The Faculty and Administration bargaining teams met on July 11 for less than an hour, but the Faculty Bargaining Team said the short session covered several important topics.

The Administration provided some updates for the data the teams have been discussing at recent bargaining sessions. The data includes average faculty salaries, overload compensation rates, and the history of recent faculty raises at several other Ohio community colleges (Columbus State, Clark State, Cuyahoga, Lakeland, Lorain, Owens, Stark State, and Sinclair).

The Administration Team responded to a proposal the Faculty Team presented in May that included changes for some portions of Article 6 (Faculty Involvement in Governance).

The Administration Team also presented updated information for contract Appendix A, which describes some details of the employee health benefits plan. The updates apply to the health benefits plan that went into effect July 1 and do not change any health benefits.

The Administration Team said that at the next scheduled bargaining session, on Friday, July 14, they will bring their responses to the Compensation and Workload proposals that the Faculty Team presented in May.

Faculty Team Co-leader Julie McLaughlin said, “We hope the bargaining session on Friday will be productive, and will allow us to make progress toward resolving the Workload and Compensation provisions for our next contract.”

The Faculty team worked on preparations both before and after the bargaining session, while enjoying the generous contributions of food provided by faculty colleagues.