Our second bargaining meeting with the college was Friday, March 8. We first agreed to ground rules and then shared some of the issues we would like to address. LCCEF did not submit a formal proposal but the college did.
The College’s proposal can be viewed below. As you will see it is stark. In its essence what they offered is a pay cut due to the “sunset” of the FSA contribution and potentially more loss of income with the switch to OEBB. Note: there is an Insurance Committee consisting of 10 classified and 6 managers researching OEBB and other options. More information will be available from that group as it progresses. Our current insurance contract ends on October 1, 2019 but if we were to go to OEBB they need to be notified by June 30, 2019.
Your LCCEF team made it clear that should our members decide they will accept a move to OEBB we will want the same bargain achieved by Faculty when they went to OEBB in 2008. Part of that agreement was a minimum of 1.75% added to their pay scale and quite a bit of protection language that (for one) requires the college to pay the full premium amount up to a particular dollar amount. This is why the faculty pay zero dollars in premium cost to this day. It also appears they agreed to a reduction in work days days in the first year (no decrease in pay). We will be studying the faculty MOA very carefully and reaching out to LCCEA to fully understand the agreement made. We will continue to bring all details to you so when the time comes you can make an informed decision. There may be some very hard choices ahead, including organizing a strike.
Bargaining Meetings are scheduled most Fridays from 1-3pm until completed (location CEN 303). These meetings will be open to members as silent observers. Members will need to use leave time or work out flex time with your manager in order to attend. Contact any of your Union Officers if you have questions.
We have 4 subcommittees formed to research, and provide information and insights for the negotiations team at the table. Those subcommittees are:
- Communications
- Insurance
- Surveys
- Contract Language (Janus Impact)
If you are interested in serving on the Bargaining Team or Bargaining Committee please reach out to us via our Interest Form. The LCCEF Bargaining Negotiating Team consists of Kenny Ascheri, Matt Danskine, Robin Geyer, Steve Kayl, Bryan Lally (AFT Rep), Nikki Li, Casandra Rhay, Dawn Rupp, and Marsha Sills.
You may be asking, “What can I do to help?”
- Talk to people in your area
- Send ideas to the bargaining team (bargaining@lccef.org)
- Become a Worksite Leader
- Sit in on bargaining and help spread the word
- Organize a “Wear your LCCEF gear day” in your area each week
- Think of other ways to help and send them to bargaining@lccef.org