Contract Negotiations: 04/04/2024

Takeaways from the 04/04/2024 meeting:

• Administration increased its financial offering from 1.24% to 2.5% for each year of the proposed contract.
• Administration consolidated non-nursing adjunct tier pay to Tier II, which is a financial decrease for all faculty currently at Tier III.
• Administration removed their previously proposed salary tables.
• Administration proposed any full-time faculty with less than five years of employment may be fired for any reason. This equates to 45 FT faculty at HACC being at risk of arbitrary termination.

Dear colleagues,

In January 2023, HACCEA presented a 137-page draft contract. Much of this content consisted of current HACC policies that HACCEA wanted to ensure was honored in a legally binding contract. In response, administration took five months to go through the draft document and responded with a 21-page draft filled with “me too” clauses stating faculty would get whatever they decided to give staff. They proposed a 1% raise at that time.

Little progress was made in 2023 with administration too often canceling negotiations meetings or offering no comment during the negotiations meetings we had. As a step of faith toward collaboration, HACCEA agreed to remove its proposed salary schedule in lieu of administration’s draft of clear salary tables that offered much needed transparency and improved pay equity. There was little to no movement as a response from administration. The arrests of our PSEA union representatives and the threat of arrest of three HACCEA faculty members, including two negotiations committee members, on our HACC Lancaster Campus in late August 2023 was a low point, but HACCEA stood firm against all union-busting, intimidation tactics.

Negotiations took a more positive turn to start 2024. Since January 2024, HACCEA and administration discussed 26 articles and had reasonable debate on the articles that did not address any financial compensation. However, stark disagreements on financial issues remained.

That slightly positive turn ended at the March 19, 2024, meeting that attempted to address some of those financial disagreements. After noting four “high cost” areas of concern for administration, administration could not answer basic questions regarding how they came about their numbers, stating only that the finance office arrived at those numbers.

During the April 4, 2024, meeting, administration finally made a move on finances by increasing the raise to a proposed 2.5% but still proposed a reduction in pay for any faculty member at Tier III adjunct pay. Furthermore, they removed their previously proposed salary tables that were foundational in HACCEA’s removal of a salary schedule and added a clause that simply stated they would hire faculty at rates administration deemed appropriate; this backwards movement is not good faith bargaining.

The administration’s current 23-page draft still contains 24 “me too” articles giving administration ultimate and arbitrary authority over a wide range of work issues. HACCEA negotiation team members were also lectured how we “should be grateful” for the work environment administration provides and that we simply need to trust management.

The successful Vote of No Confidence in HACC’s president, Dr. John Sygielski. and his cabinet in 2019 and the successful union vote in 2022 stand as proof that there is a problem with the ongoing relationship between many HACC faculty members, Dr. John Sygielski, and the Board of Trustee’s Chair, Tom B. Richey. Even Dr. Ski, in response to the Vote of No Confidence, stated it was a result of a “breakdown of communication.” On that, we agree.

HACCEA firmly believes a fair contract with legally enforceable articles stating basic rules and providing transparency in hiring, pay, and compensation is the foundation from which to rebuild trust and improve communication.

HACCEA plans to modify its own pay proposal in a good faith effort to move in the positive direction HACC needs. However, a proposed reduction in Tier III adjunct pay, a 23-page draft full of “me too” or “trust us” clauses, and backwards movement on the salary table inclusion does not take us closer to achieving a fair foundation upon which we can rebuild communication and trust. Be assured HACCEA remains firm in its commitment to fair pay and treatment of all faculty.

To ensure faculty are appropriately informed about negotiations as we approach the summer break, we will continue to draft short negotiations updates after each meeting.

In solidarity,

HACCEA Negotiations Team
Kathleen Conley, Library Representative (FT)
Sara Crill, Health Careers Representative (PT)
Christina Houston, Science and Mathematics Representative (PT)
Steve Lustig, Business, Technology, & Industry Representative (FT)
Kelly Matthews, Science and Mathematics Representative (FT)
Diane Mummert, Liberal Arts Representative (PT)
Christine Nowik, Liberal Arts Representative (FT)
Lois Schaffer, Health Careers Representative (FT)
Crystal Scheib, Co-Chair (PT)
Dan Schoedel, Business, Technology, & Industry Representative (PT)
Adam Weber, PSEA UniServ Representative for HACCEA
Amy Withrow, Co-Chair (FT)
Diane Wollaston, Library Representative (PT)

https://www.haccea.org
https://www.psea.org/about-psea/how-to-join/enrollment/