Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the FUSA bargaining team and Council, I am writing to give you an update regarding impasse.
Our strategic, persistent, and well-executed approach to bargaining with the Administration has paid off. Dr. Atwater has heard us and has agreed to start the salary study, pay the step for 2022-2023 retroactive to August 2022, and increase overload to $76/point effective in January 2023. These items will be implemented while the impasse hearing is still pending.
It is important to note that his decision follows months of activism by FUSA leadership and concerned faculty members who gathered to address the Board of Trustees for the past three months. In addition, on November 29, FUSA initiated the process for a new class action grievance against the College for failure to pay the 2022-2023 step. On November 30, FUSA Council met with Dr. Atwater and told him, among other things, that faculty morale was continuing to decline, and many faculty were reassessing their voluntary contributions to the College above their contractual requirements. The next day, the Administration contacted us to say, “Dr. Atwater heard you.”
The step and overload increases will be paid after being ratified by the faculty at the January 5, 2023 in-service and approved by the Board of Trustees. A draft of the memorandum of understanding with the details will be sent to all faculty before the vote.
While this is an intermediate “win” for faculty, FUSA will continue to focus its efforts on getting the 2021-2022 step reinstated and getting the pay ranges and lab points addressed at the impasse hearing.
I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the bargaining team and Council who collectively have spent thousands of hours to date working on negotiations and grievances. In addition, I would like to thank the faculty. Without your support, without our high percentage of members, FUSA wouldn’t have the leverage with Administration that we have now.
In Solidarity,
Sheryl Sippel
Faculty United Service Association (FUSA) President
Faculty United Service Association 