Dear Faculty Colleague
Your union negotiating team has met continuously with Administration representatives since May 24, 2019. Our old collective bargaining agreement expired on August 31, and we have been negotiating with a single goal: to secure a new contract that is fair and equitable and addresses the needs of all the diverse constituencies within our bargaining unit.
In the interest of transparency and accountability, the negotiating team has kept the membership fully informed through periodic written updates and through reports by President Jim Werner at each monthly general meeting. At the November 6 meeting, Jim shared the details of a revised package of WCCFT proposals that was presented to Administration in late October. Our objective was to build on several areas of tentative agreement in an effort to accelerate the process and reach an overall agreement that would be mutually acceptable to both sides.
On November 11, Administration countered with a new set of proposals. We are publishing Administration’s response in this update so that members are aware of the details. We note, first of all, that rather than responding to our good-faith effort to find common ground, Administration has chosen to move backwards and add such new demands as a full-time faculty advisement load that spreads over three semesters, i.e. includes advisement in the summer.
We also note that Administration has chosen to ignore entirely some of our central proposals, such as an Adjunct Professionalism Stipend (over $600 per course) to provide compensation for work outside the classroom, accumulation of up to three sick days for adjunct faculty, raising pay scales for Academic Support Center Coordinators to make them equivalent to rates for Instructors, Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors, and maintaining the current 40-hour work week spread over 41 weeks per year for existing counselors.
Administration’s demands are not only insultingly meager. They are calculated to divide us. Now, more than ever, the entire WCCFT membership—full-time and part-time, senior and junior, teaching and nonteaching faculty–needs to pull together and present a strong and united front to Administration. We need to mobilize our strength and give Administration a reason to care about what we need and to hear our voices.
We ask that you come to the December 4 membership meeting in TEC107 at 11am. Bring your colleagues and your best ideas for how to respond to Administration’s drive to weaken our solidarity and to make us work more as our real standard of living erodes further.
If you are not yet a member, you can join at the December 4 meeting or use this convenient online enrollment form: http://www.sunywccft.org/membership-form/
Administration’s Proposals to WCCFT
- Contract Duration Three Years
- Wage Increase year one year two year three
Full-time 1% 1% 1%
Adjunct/Overload 1.25% 1.25% 1.25%
- Longevity +$25 +$25
- Health Insurance: Employees hired after 9.1.19: Instructor 10% Assistant 15% Full 20%
- Counselor hours: 48 weeks of work/year
7.5 hours work/day 5 days/week
Monday – Saturday work week
- On line: Fall/Spring semesters maximum 50% of full time load
Office hours open
- Advisement: 15 hours/semester 3 semesters
Faculty shall be available to attend scheduled open houses.
Faculty shall be available prior to start of fall and spring semester.
- See union proposal on filling of vacancies caused by unexpected resignation and other bona fide reasons
- Department Chair duties cannot be combined with other released time. Faculty members on released time shall teach at least two courses per semester.
- All classes will be subject to student evaluations.
Evaluations shall be used by the college in any appropriate manner.
- College may select any individual to teach corporate and industry workforce training.
The individual may not be a College employee at the time of assignment.
Rates of pay shall be agreed to by the hired employee and College. No rate shall be lower than the adjunct rate
- During fall and spring semester faculty members may be required to be on campus or extension sites for at least four days per week. If less than four days per week, faculty member must have Dean’s approval.
- EOC: All rates of pay for Foundation and academic courses shall be at the non-credit rate. Counselors’ schedules shall be the same as campus counselors.
- Adjuncts receive credit for teaching if they work more than one-half the semester and the semester is over.
- Full-timers when not reappointed lose their full-time status at the end of the spring semester.
- Adjunct counselors librarians and coordinator who work at least half time shall receive three sick/personal days per year with no accumulation.
- Adjunct counselors librarians and coordinators shall not lose pay due to emergency closings.
- Professional Development +$5000
- Adjuncts teaching during an employee’s regular schedule:
a. Must have approval of supervisor
b. Can only teach a one-credit course
c. Can only teach one course/semester
d. Must use vacation time if working during regular schedule