What Has the Union Done for you Lately?

By Barbara Hanfling-Executive Director, FA, AFT 6157

1. Sick Leave for Non Instructional Adjunct and Non Instructional Overload:

About two years ago, the Union was contacted by Bev Stewart, Counselor Coordinator at EVC regarding questions and concerns about her overload sick leave accrual. It turns out that the Academic Support offices were not accruing sick leave to full time non instructional faculty for overload or adjunct non instructional faculty. Here is what the contract states:

13.5.1.3: Adjunct Faculty: Adjunct faculty members shall be credited with a proportion of five (5) days of sick leave based on their percentage of load for each semester and for intersession and for each summer school session.

13.5.1.2 Full Time Faculty-Overload, Intersession and All Summer School Sessions: Full time faculty or non–instructional faculty who teach/work overload, intersession or summer school shall be credited with a proportion of five (5) days of sick leave based on their percentage of load for each of these sessions.

The justification for excluding adjunct non instructional and full time overload from sick leave centered on the fact the both are often paid by timesheet although our contract clearly stated both groups were entitled to sick leave accrual. In our meetings with Human Resources, we reached agreement that it was the responsibility of Academic Support/Services to track all work time and allow accrual of sick leave for all faculty during all instructional/non instructional time.

The deadline for posting sick leave on My Web was December 2009. The agreement included the fact that sick leave for adjunct non instructional and full time non instructional overload must be posted back to 2006. Please check your sick leave accrual and ensure that your sick leave has been properly posted for the last 3 years; that way you will be paid if and when you are ill. Ensuring sick leave for non instructional adjunct and non instructional overload was a great FA victory; thanks to Bev Stewart for her persistence and interpretation of the contract.

2. Incorrect Salary Placement-Victory for our Faculty: Nightmares often become major issues for the Union; with the incorrect salary placement of at least 4 of our full time faculty over the past 10 years it certainly rose to that level. When the FA was told that one faculty member potentially owed up to $6,000 the Union and District spent about 9 months discussing this issue and finally agreed to a sideletter which acknowledged the District’s mistakes and did not penalized the faculty member. Below are some of the points of our agreement:

a. Human Resources made unintended mistakes in placing full time faculty on the salary schedule

b. Faculty did not deceive the district and basically were unaware of these errors

c. All errors made prior to July 1, 2009 will be accepted and no faculty member salary placement or repayments will be made

d. All faculty will have the number of units maintained that were accorded as part of the HR error.

e. HR and the FA, AFT 6157 will review all full time faculty member salary placements from here forward

Two of the full time faculty where HR made errors will now receive 6 or more months of back pay because the District had already changed their class placement.

This is a tremendous victory for our faculty and we appreciate the joint work and agreement that was reached between the Union and Human Resources.