Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515721
Bargaining update Compiled by Julian Peeples H A R T N E L L C O L L E G E : Faculty organize and win After a marathon 16-hour negotiating session, Hartnell College Faculty Association (HCFA) won a contract in December that recruits and retains valued educators. The new agreement resolves or improves many issues of concern for all faculty and includes no "takebacks." "Student and community support were invaluable to our team to get us over the finish line," said Nancy Schur-Beymer, HCFA president. The agreement increases faculty salaries to make them competitive with other nearby colleges and compresses the salary schedule to increase the career earnings of faculty and make the salary schedule more cost-effective. "While increases will vary, everyone will see healthy increases during this three-year contract," said Schur-Beymer. " This agreement moves Hartnell Col- lege from last place to first in the region and significantly increases the college's salary rankings statewide." The agreement includes health care for part-time faculty that complies with the AB 190 100% reimbursement program. " This is huge, as faculty unions throughout the state are still struggling to win this. We believe ours is perhaps the 15th agreement out of the 72 community college districts in the state that utilizes the AB 190 reimbursement program. We're proud part-time faculty will have the opportunity to take advantage of our excellent, employer-paid health care," she said. Other wins include improvements in salary for coaches and those who teach lab classes, part-time reemployment preferences and working remotely for non-instructional faculty, including counselors, librarians and instructional specialists. Contract language improvements include expanding bereavement leaves, association rights and release time and grievance procedures. P L E A S A N T O N : Educators authorize strike, call on district to invest in student success Association of Pleasanton Teachers (APT ) members are united and ready to fight for the best resources for their students, after voting overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if the district continues to refuse to invest in student success. APT declared impasse in December, following continued fruitless bargaining meetings with the district. "At a time when the needs of our students are greater than ever, man- agement was focused on 'accounting tricks' and not providing the resources to retain and attract the very best educators for our students," said APT President Cheryl Atkins. "Pleasanton Unified School District management has made it clear that they want to refuse to have their budget reflect investment in students." For ongoing updates, visit associationpleasantonteachers.org. Hartnell College faculty built power with students and community to win a historic contract. 42 cta.org Advocacy