Dear SDCCD 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 and benefits settlement effective January, 2022 for all AFT Guild unit members!
For those of you that follow these types of details closely, you will recall that the current Resource Allocation Formula (RAF) that we operate under has a contingency clause included that requires the District to maintain cash reserves at a level of 15% or greater in order to trigger the rest of the formula that provides resources for compensation to employees. Unfortunately, the District has only been able to build its reserves up to about half of the required level, thus, by formula, we should be receiving $0 this coming year.
However, due to the advocacy efforts of your AFT Guild leadership team, in addition to the good will of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Cortez, Executive Vice-Chancellor Dowd, and Vice-Chancellor Smith 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 not only provide an across the board salary increase for our members but also provides a significant one-time bonus payment. The details of our settlement are as follows, all effective January 1, 2022:
1) Members enrolled in the Kaiser, UHC Harmony, or UHC Journey medical plans shall continue to have those costs fully covered by the District.
2) Members enrolled in the Delta Dental and VSP plans shall continue to have those costs fully covered by the District.
3) An across the board salary increase of 2.535%. (see attached new salary schedules)
4) 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 one off-schedule payment equivalent to 2.535% of their gross pay which was earned between July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Bargaining unit members who were terminated for cause, retired, or voluntarily resigned prior to January 1, 2022 shall not be eligible for this off-schedule payment. The payment shall be made no later than the March 31, 2022 and April 10, 2022 pay disbursements.
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 and 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 you all and I look forward to our continued mutual success.
In Solidarity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931
