Salary and Benefits Tentative Agreement-GCCCD Faculty (11/19/2021)

Dear GCCCD AFT Guild Faculty Members,

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I am pleased to announce that we have reached a Tentative Agreement with the District on a salary settlement effective January, 2022 for all AFT Guild unit members!

Due to the advocacy efforts of your AFT Guild leadership team, in addition to the good will of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Neault, Vice-Chancellor Abushaban, and Associate Vice-Chancellor Leedham in ensuring our members’ hard work throughout the pandemic was recognized and compensated, we were able to reach a fair settlement with the District which will provide several compensation enhancements to our members, while at the same time continuing to narrow the pay-parity discrepancy between our adjunct and tenured/tenure-track faculty. The details of our settlement are as follows:

Effective July 1, 2021, there shall be a 2.50% increase to all adjunct/overload salary schedules. (see attached new salary schedule) Payments for the period July 1 through December 31, 2021 will be made on the February 2022 payroll.

Effective July 1, 2021, there shall be a 2.05% increase to all tenured/tenure-track faculty salary schedules. (see attached new salary schedule) Payments for the period July 1 through December 31, 2021 will be made on the February 2022 payroll.

**After the applications of these salary increases, our adjunct faculty salary schedule will be 99.5% on a pro-rata basis of the equivalent steps on the tenured/tenure-track salary schedule.**

In consideration of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing changes in working conditions and work location, including additional expenses incurred while working remotely and returning to onsite operations, the District shall provide all bargaining unit members employed with the District at any point during the period from July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 with the following off-schedule payments:

For adjunct faculty, a one-time, off-schedule payment shall be made equivalent to 2.50% of the employee’s annual gross earnings, and shall be calculated using the employee’s gross earnings for the time period of July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, multiplied by two. This payment shall be made on the February 2022 payroll.

For tenured/tenure-track faculty, a one-time, off-schedule payment shall be made equivalent to 2.05% of the employee’s annual gross earnings, and shall be calculated using the employee’s gross earnings for the time period of July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, multiplied by two. This payment shall be made on the February 2022 payroll.

Bargaining unit members who were terminated for cause, retired, or voluntarily resigned prior to January 1, 2022, shall not be eligible for the off-schedule payment.

Effective June 1, 2022, an increase of 2.25% shall be made to the department chair June 30 stipends. (see attached)

Effective fall semester 2021, an increase in the adjunct office hours rate shall be made from the current $30/hour rate to $40/hour.

Extension through June 30, 2022 of The COVID-related sick leave provisions that were in effect from SB 95 (and expired September 30) shall be extended through June 30, 2022. This will allow employees to take COVID related sick leave without using their personal sick leave. (Details of this extension are attached to this agreement as “Extension of SB 95 Leave.”)

The previously agreed to “hold-harmless” provision of POA shall be extended through June 30, 2022, such that any adjunct faculty member receiving a reduced load through no fault of their own would maintain their POA level for 18 months from June 30, 2022 before seeing a reduction in their POA rights. The provision that an adjunct faculty member may choose to reduce their load with their Dean’s approval shall continue through June 30, 2022.

A salary and benefits comparison study with the SDCCD of all AFT-represented positions shall be conducted.

The parties shall make a good faith commitment (taking into consideration failed searches, retirements, etc.) to increase the number of full-time faculty to 310 no later than September 1, 2023.

Your AFT Guild was successful in collaborating with the District to ensure that due to the extraordinary effort it has taken to keep the District functioning during these difficult times, a compensation increase was clearly merited. We recognize all of our members have worked hard throughout the pandemic and you deserve no less.

It is because of the support from all of our members that we were able to achieve this settlement. Unlike the Kaiser or UC-AFT workers who had to get to the verge of an all-out strike to settle their contracts, we were able to reach a peaceful agreement without any type of strife or threat of job actions. These types of agreements are not reached by chance, they only happen by virtue of our continued strong Union presence and the good labor relations we enjoy with the District leadership team.

Please know that we will continue to commit our time, knowledge, and experience to improve our wages and maintain our access to affordable health care and respectable working conditions. I have no doubt we will continue to be successful with your continued support. If you are a newer employee or have not yet had a chance to join our union, you can do so by clicking here and completing our online membership form.

Please keep an eye out on your inbox for electronic ratification ballots which will be arriving soon. I am pleased that we were able to provide these benefits to all of you and I look forward to our continued mutual success.

In Solidarity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931