Negotiations Report #6

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March 25, 2025

Some brief takeaways from our fifth negotiation session on March 21st:

  • The District didn’t accept our last proposal on Ground Rules.  After spending an excessive amount of negotiation time on unnecessary ground rules, we continue to operate under our established past practice, including the presence of observers.
  • Most of the proposals we have brought so far are non-monetary items that do not impose a financial impact to the District.  Despite that, there has been little movement from the District on any of these topics (specifically with regard to Dual Enrollment, Grievance Procedure, and Reasonable Accommodations), as you can read more about, below.

Reminder: Sign up to join us at a future negotiation session!  Our next negotiation is March 28th, 1:30 pm-5:30pm.  You can also:

Current Bargaining Report

AFT Negotiation Team: Monica Malamud, Chet Lexvold, Althea Kippes, Jennifer Van Sijill, Gil Perez, Luis Zuñiga.  Also in attendance from AFT were Co-Presidents Tamara Perkins and Rika Yonemura-Fabian, and Observers Lori Slicton, Jessica Silver-Sharp, and Kalon Behravesh.

From the District: Ellen Wu, Julie Johnson, Richard Storti, Melissa Moreno, Joe Morello, Aaron McVean, David Feune, Gerardo Ramirez

Because the District had emailed proposals on Article 11 (Leaves) and Article 25 (Reasonable Accommodation) at the end of the previous session and we had questions about those, we asked the District to present those proposals first.

Note: There were lengthy conversations during this session regarding the colors and formatting each party should use when exchanging proposals that I will not bore you with.

Leaves (Article 11)

The District did not accept AFT’s proposal for 1-month paid parental leave.  The District largely accepted AFT’s proposals on other aspects of Leaves, which include:

  • 5 days of paid Bereavement Leave for the death of relatives and domestic partners (previously was 3 days for in-state, 5 days out-of-state)
  • 10 days of Personal Necessity Leave (an increase from 7 days), which allows employees to use sick leave for other personal necessities. Of the 10 Personal Necessity Leave days, 5 (up from 2) can be used without pre-approval or documentation.

We presented a counteroffer that included 1-month paid parental leave.

Reasonable Accommodation (Article 25)

The District did not accept AFT’s proposed language, which would have required the District to identify a person / position, with contact information, whom faculty could contact regarding accommodation requests, and would have required the District to notify the faculty member within 10 working days of the status of the request.  The District proposed language keeping the status quo.

We presented a counteroffer, bringing back the language requiring the District to have a designated person / position for accommodation requests, and to update the employee on the status of the request within 10 working days.

Class Assignment for Full Time Faculty (Article 26)

Since the District made the identical counter proposal as their previous one, we appear stuck on this one, and we said we’ll set it to the side/ put it in the “parking lot” for now.

Article 19 (Part-Time Employment)

We presented our first proposal on Article 19, and included language requiring the District to publish seniority lists on the District’s HR website (instead of current contract language that requires faculty to request such lists).  Similarly, should the District not follow seniority, or if the District assigns a reduced load, we proposed language requiring the District to put that in writing to the faculty member.  We also proposed language that would require the District to, when available, assign PT faculty the “highest load ever assigned” to that PT faculty member (as opposed to current “same or similar” language).  Finally, we proposed that PT faculty be notified of proposed assignments 5 working days prior to the publication of the class schedule.

Grievance Procedure (Article 17)

The District presented a counter proposal that included 5 grievance levels, instead of the current 4, and instead of the 3 proposed by AFT in its latest proposal.  This proposal, however, proposed making Level III Mediation.  This proposal went back to current contract language for Level I (taking the grievance to the College President).  The District again proposed a takeback on arbitration, proposing that it reverts to “advisory” arbitration (currently, there is a mandatory binding arbitration pilot program in the contract, and AFT’s proposals include making this pilot program permanent).  The District again struck out AFT’s proposed language which would have resulted in the grievance being resolved in favor of the grievant if the District failed to issue timely decisions in the process.

We asked why the District is refusing binding arbitration when the pilot program has worked – the District had expressed fears of high costs, but there’s only been one arbitration in the three-year pilot.  The District admitted they are opposed to binding arbitration because it takes the power of final decision-making away from the Board of Trustees, and after good questioning by our chief negotiator (Monica Malamud), the District acknowledged that the Board of Trustees can overturn an “advisory” arbitration decision.  Monica also pointed out that binding arbitration is the only available path to have an objective, neutral person decide a grievance.

Dual Enrollment (New Article)

The District presented its second counter to AFT’s counteroffer.  Overall, the District struck out much of AFT’s language, including:

  • Making the language applicable to all Off-Campus assignments;
  • Giving SMCCCD faculty priority for dual enrollment assignments;
  • Requiring that instructors must have valid teaching credentials for the college course – the District instead proposed vaguer language requiring it must comply with “Education Code and Title 5 laws and regulations;”
  • Requiring that high school teachers be evaluated according to SMCCCD adjunct faculty evaluation procedures;
  • Not requiring faculty to perform any duties not included in Appendix D or to work on days outside the SMCCCD Academic Calendar; and
  • Reimbursement / payment / provision for / of alternative forms of transportation for faculty who do not drive or own a vehicle.

 

In Solidarity,
Chet Lexvold
Executive Director, AFT 1493
lexvold@aft1493.org