Negotiators for the union representing the faculty of Pensacola Junior College declared impasse today after ten months of bargaining. Issues at impasse include salaries and scheduling of professional activities. Negotiators have been unable to agree on base salary increases for all faculty, promotions, and payment for teaching extra classes and performing additional duties.
Paige Anderson, chief negotiator for the Faculty union, expressed her concern about the college’s unwillingness to address compensation. “For over fifteen years, the college has promised to move faculty salaries into the top twenty percent of Florida’s community colleges. Unfortunately, the promise has not been kept and PJC faculty salaries rank near the bottom. We have patiently negotiated for several months in an attempt to find common ground, while the college’s negotiators have offered no salary increases for this year or any guarantee of future compensation.”
According to Charlotte Sweeney, PJCFA president, the faculty union is seeking mediation and will call for a special magistrate, if necessary. “We have asked our staff professional to make arrangements for a federal mediator to assist us in resolving our differences, and we will inform the Public Employees Relations Commission that we have declared impasse. If we are unable to reach an agreement with the college through mediation, we will ask PERC to appoint a special magistrate.”
Ms. Anderson noted that the average PJC faculty salary in 2007 was $44,860 while the state average was $51,057. Additionally, new faculty members with a master’s degree earn a salary of $34,828. Although the college has refused to offer even a cost of living raise this year for faculty, Dr. Ed Meadows, the new PJC president, earns a salary of $193,000, which is eight percent higher than his predecessor, Dr. Tom Delaino.
5 comments:
Is anyone surprised that we will not get a raise this year? Impasse or "just not there"? And the voting is over, so guess what, another round of budget cuts coming. I guess we can increase our income by lowering union dues?
While I don't think any faculty expected a big raise this year, the administration's refusal to consider increasing ANY part of faculty salary (overload rate, increases for promotions or higher degrees, sick-leave payout)or to work on a multiple-year plan to improve faculty base salary shows what little commitment it has to the faculty.
The union has been struggling for years to get our low salaries up to livable wages. It's time for us to admit that impasse is the only route we've been left by an uncaring administration. Faculty need to stand up and demand that the administration work on a plan!
This all goes beyond a raise just "this year." This salary issue is an ongoing one and administration refuses to put in place a multiyear plan to raise salaries to a level they promised 15 years ago. Go to the Florida Community College Fact book and look at where PJC stands on everything from teacher pay to amount spent on non-instructional costs. You'll see that over time, non-instructional costs have risen at about the same rate instructional costs have gone down and that PJC's salary rank among Florida colleges has gone from #9 to #20 in roughly 6 years.
PJCFA is working hard to stand up for us as we encounter an administration that continues to pass more and more responsibility onto us with no significant increases in pay, while at the same time, making plans for all sorts of new buildings, spending money on softball fields and new running tracks. If they can plan for future growth of the school, they should be able to plan to increase pay. After all, they did it for Dr. Meadows salary.
"PJC's salary rank among Florida colleges has gone from #9 to #20 in roughly 6 years."
Thank you Tom Delaino! And Keith Samuels too.
Words do not adequately describe our appreciation for all the work you do. We know it is frustrating. You have done the right thing.
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