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December, 2001 Volume 16, Issue 2 - Part-Time Faculty Win Better Contract |
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by Lantz Simpson
Part-time faculty at SMC will have the best collective bargaining agreement ever after the November 14 ratification vote.
The final vote was 351-7 in favor of ratification. The Faculty Association won improvements in all areas of the contract dealing with part-time salaries and working conditions. Hats off to Chief Negotiator Robert Flores and negotiating team members Mitra Moassessi and martin Goldstein for a great job during a long and sometimes exhausting negotiations. Thanks also go to both Janet Kretschmer for her support of the team and to the rest of the Negotiating Council (Dennis Frisch, Bev Tholen, Elaine Roque).
Most part-time faculty will receive about a 11.5% raise thanks in part to the state's part-time faculty equity fund. After the equity funds were equally distributed on a percentage basis to all part-time faculty eligible to receive funds, a COLA of 3.87% was added. In addition, because of the salary schedule adjustment to the full-time schedule, part-time faculty on step 14 or higher of at the load factor 1.0 salary schedule will receive an additional adjustment.
State law prohibits part time equity money going to anyone who is at or above parity. On a per hour basis, part-time counselors and librarians are better paid than their full-time colleagues who have the same education and experience. This means that those part-time counselors and librarians at SMC who are at or above parity are not eligible to receive equity fund increases.
The paid office hours program was expanded to include all non-lab math classes. Previously, only specific English composition courses were included in the office hours program. The assignment required to qualify for office hours pay was also reduced from 6 to 5 weekly teaching hours. SMC has applied for funds from the state's part-time faculty office hours matching fund program and will continue to do so. A contract language glitch on how office hours pay is to be computed has also been cleaned up.
The pool of part-time faculty eligible for health benefits was increased by shortening the time requirement. From now on, an assignment of 5 lecture hour equivalents or more for two of the last six semesters will make a part-timer eligible for health benefits. The previous requirement had been three semesters. SMC is also applying for matching funds from the state's part-time health benefits program.
Finally, the associate faculty program was expanded. Starting in the Fall 2002, part-time faculty with five consecutive semesters of assignment at 5 LHEs or more, coupled with satisfactory evaluations, will receive one year contracts with load retention. This means that part-time faculty can expect the same LHEs of assignment for each of the fall and spring semesters. For 2001-02, about 160 part-time faculty were designated associate faculty. Next year there will be about another 100 added to the associate faculty designation.
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