What Has the Union Done for You Lately?

By Barbara Hanfling, FA, AFT 6157 Executive Director

As many of you may remember, last year the Union was able to place all health center nurses/professionals into the FA, AFT 6157 bargaining unit as adjunct non instructional faculty. These nurses/health professionals had been paid as professional experts at a low salary rate for over 15 years which violated the Education Code.

With the entry of these Clinic Nurses, Nurse Practioners and Counseling Directors and Supervisors into the bargaining unit, their pay increased commensurate to their skill and education level and they received all the benefits available to adjunct faculty in our bargaining unit. This past summer many of them received a retroactive pay check back to September 2007.

It came to the Union’s attention this year through some of our members in the health center, that although they had been placed in our bargaining unit effective July 1 2007, they had not received retroactive sick leave to July 1 2007.

Recently the District and Union agreed to a side letter which contains the following: “The District and Union also agree to provide sick leave retroactive to July 1, 2007 in accordance with Article 13.5.1 and …agree that the implementation will be completed by June 30 2009.” “…if any health Center faculty becomes ill during the 2008-2009 academic year, they may use all eligible sick leave earned retroactive to July 1, 2007.”

Again we are so pleased to continue to represent our faculty and to enforce the terms and conditions of the contract.