Negotiations Team Recommendation

The AFT 1789 bargaining team recommends voting YES to approve this MOU. We understand that it is not perfect, particularly because it results in some faculty having their pay reduced relative to what they have been receiving since 2021. However, we believe ratifying this MOU will lead to significant and beneficial long-term changes to all faculty, including for those who have seen a decline in their pay. 

Why does the negotiations team make this recommendation?

After a year of talking with our members and requesting and receiving information from the District, our negotiations team entered into negotiations with SCD with a goal of negotiating a new HD MOU that would offer pay stability and predictability for faculty; clarity in implementation,; and  that could lessen the harm to those faculty whose pay would be affected by the District’s argument that the original HD MOU was expired. 

In further conversations with members, with the HD advisory group, and in our caucuses, members also expressed a desire to move away from a system that benefited a group of faculty but not another. 

Additionally, in conversations, in membership meeting discussions, and in our High Demand negotiations advisory group and caucuses,  members insisted that negotiations stay within the total earmark amount and not exceed it. We have seen that the previous agreement wildly overspends the  earmark, which limits our local funds and instructional resources, and subsequently what we’re able to bargain for collectively. 

Over the Summer, in open negotiations sessions, and advised by our HD advisory group, our team sought to arrive at an agreement that represented our membership’s collective goals and priorities. Throughout the summer, SCD fought us on these issues, particularly on our proposals that would mitigate pay cuts to faculty. However, as the beginning of fall quarter loomed and we didn’t budge, SCD began to feel the pressure. This resulted in AFT gaining the 2023 4.5% wage reopener for all HD faculty paid by local funds, and the inclusion of the Occupations in Demand List, which expands who is considered “high demand.”

At this point, we had two choices before us: 

1. Do nothing and SCD would pull back all the funds by expiring the 2021 MOU, leading us to a lengthy and unpredictable legal fight with the District

OR;

2. Put forward what we saw as the best possible MOU for ratification that cushions the pay cut –  which is the 4.5% –  and stabilizes pay  by ensuring parity pay would be guaranteed through local funds. It also ensures that base salary is fully funded by local funds, rather than from the earmark which at some point could go away.

Additionally,  along with other legal strategies, the new MOU gives us more of a chance to avoid clawbacks for faculty that were allegedly overpaid since 2022 by showing the state we have addressed the MOU as a solution to a very bad problem that could have catastrophic consequences for many HD FT faculty.

Now it is time for membership to choose how we move forward. By mid-October, HD members have been able to see how this impacts their pay. And whether you are considered HD or not, we hope you can see the collective benefits to this agreement.  If members want a legal battle over the 2021 MOU, AFT is ready to go, but we simply have no idea what will happen. We believe this MOU provides a sustainable, predictable, and clear path forward for faculty and it’s why our team recommends voting “yes” to ratify it. 

In Solidarity, 

AFT Negotiations Team