Bargaining Stalled

Here is the last message from your FUSA President regarding negotiations for the 2019-2022 contract:

FUSA and the Administration met for the five scheduled bargaining sessions (2/15, 3/1, 3/29, 4/12 and 4/26), and then added one additional session on 5/17 to presumably wrap up a few items and finish negotiations.

Fifteen minutes prior to the end of the bargaining session on 5/17, the Administration announced that the Step System for 2019-2020 would be delayed until mid-year and would not be retroactive, a reversal of their previous agreement. FUSA’s immediate response was that the Administration’s move was ‘bad faith’ bargaining, going against tentatively agreed upon items from previous sessions, contradicting promises made by Dr. Atwater, and representing a last-minute sabotage of the bargaining process.

The FUSA Council met today (5/24/19) and formulated the following response, which was sent to Dr. Atwater and Cabinet:

FUSA Council response:

The step system is an established salary schedule implemented at the beginning of each academic year. One key purpose of this system is to allow the administration to engage in budgetary planning based on a known budget entity. Any budget shortfall should not be taken from the step system. FUSA Council unanimously rejects any modification to the implementation of the bargained step system.

Below are the highlights of items that had already been tentatively agreed upon, which included a continuation of the current STEP salary schedule, with STEP increases going into effect in August as intended and agreed upon.

Top 20 Tentatively Agreed Items 

1. Continue previously agreed upon step system for pay. The system is an incremental method for a clear a clear salary structure and not a “raise” system.
2. Increase of overload rate year 2 to $74
3. Increase of overload rate year 3 to $75
4. Establishment of a one-step equivalency for faculty with 30+ years of instructional service
5. Establishment of a two-step equivalency bonus for faculty with 35+ years of service
6. Establishment of all release time tied to overload rate
7. Reestablishment of the Program Manager position for specific AS programs
8. Concessions on Library and Counseling faculty scope of duties
9. A major modification to the goals process
10. Increase in summer overload to 240 points provided it is distributed as 120 points summer 1 and 120 points summer 2
11. Posting of syllabus in CMS by the first day of class
12. Utilization of the CMS grade book for grading criteria as indicated on syllabus
13. Establishment of Bottom floor Tier 1 Department Chairs
14. Modification to Tier 2 Department Chairs
15. Establishment of Discipline wide textbook adoption committees
16. Expansion of college-wide textbook adoptions for “high enrollment” courses
17. Modification of on-campus office access to 60 minutes after an event and/or in conformance to posted campus office hours
18. Establishment of specific times for summer office hours, which may be online
19. Inclusion of specific categories in the Faculty Evaluation criteria for addressing items in the college mission statement
20. Agreement on language for Academic Freedom

FUSA Bargaining Team will meet with Administration in June. Please consider clearing your schedule so that you can attend and support the negotiations process. I encourage you to sign up to receive the FUSA Informant so that you can stay current with the remainder of bargaining. I have attached instructions so that the FUSA Informant can be sent to your personal email.

Thank you for your attention to this message. The Bargaining Team, your elected FUSA Council and I believe it is important to provide you with this information.

In Solidarity,

Elizabeth Key-Raimer
FUSA President