What Has The Union Done for You Lately?

By Barbara Hanfling, FA, AFT 6157 Executive Director

1. Bargaining Unit Integrity: Article 5.12 states that no supervisors, deans or administrators are to teach in our bargaining unit (unless it is part of the job description). The reason this language is a part of the contract is to ensure that bargaining unit work remains with our faculty. We have many adjunct faculty who would appreciate larger loads etc.

In the fall it came to the Union’s attention that there were administrators/supervisors on both campuses teaching in our bargaining unit. As a matter of fact, one person had been teaching for 4-5 years and was just assigned at 50% load. Not only was this a violation of Article 5.12, but this person had a full time job with the district and was teaching 50%.

We immediately contacted the two College Presidents and there was agreement that the contract would be enforced and bargaining unit work would remain with our faculty. This will enable our FA, AFT 6157 faculty to teach these classes.

2. Victory for Adjunct Faculty-More Fields for Adjunct Pay Stubs- with our wonderful victory of placing our adjunct faculty on the pro rata salary schedule adjunct faculty received their first pay raises of up to 24% on October 10^th. The adjunct were quite pleased with their increases, but the perennial problem—how to read the pay stub—remained. We received many queries about the need for transparent pay stubs.

In the Union’s typical fashion, we immediately notified our Chief Business Officer, Ron Root, that there weren’t enough fields for adjunct to understand whether they were paid for Professional Development days and their salary. Without much ado, discussions took place at the District office and there was an immediate move to modify these checks and create more fields. Below is a list of the new fields available for clarity. Please check the payroll folder under Public Folders to get the entire list of fields for all faculty.

Create 9 additional “Earn Types” in the Datatel system -

a)  APD = Adjunct Professional Development

b)  OPD = Overload Professional Development

c)  AFS = Adjunct Substitute

d)  OVS = Overload Substitute

e)  AFN = Adjunct Non Instructional

f)   OVN = Overload Non Instructional

g)  AFW = Adjunct Work Experience

h)  OVW = Overload Work Experience

i)   OFC = Overload Concurrent Assignment

Our Union takes the position that paychecks must be understandable and logical. Moreover, since mistakes always can be made, it is important that all faculty continue to check their pay amounts each month.

3. Payment for 40% Overload Outside the Academic Semester: Intersession and Summer

Article 15.3 of the contract used to have a very convoluted formula for paying full time faculty for the first 40% of overload performed outside the academic semester. With the move toward pro rata, the District and Union agreed to eliminate that outdated formula and pay full time faculty in their first 40% outside the Academic calendars as follows:

a. Non-Instructional faculty will be paid at the flat amount of $69.90 per hour.

b. Instructional faculty will be paid from the Intersession and Summer Pro-Rata Salary Schedule (Appendix D-4 and D-5). What this means is that all full time faculty will be paid on the full adjunct salary schedule for the 40%, from Step 1 through Step 19 depending on where the faculty member is currently placed. For instance, if you are at Step 14 of Class V, you will be paid the PRO RATA amount of the Adjunct Schedule D-4, D-5 for the first 40%.

This is major news because it allows full time faculty to be paid at all steps of the adjunct pro rata salary schedule. Lecture faculty will receive the same amount as the old formula provided; lab faculty will get an increase in pay for this overload.

c. Instructional overload assignments over the 40% annual maximum will be paid at the faculty member’s placement on the Adjunct Pro Rata Salary schedules (Appendix D-1, Lecture, and Appendix D-2, Lab) which only goes to Step 8 currently.