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What's Really Happening - 2002/04/24

Posted On: 4/24/2002


What's Really Happening

Columbus State Education Association Newsletter of April 24, 2002

An update from contract negotiations:

It appears that, for the first time, Human Resources has notified faculty of a request for information from their personnel files. The letter you received recently from the Human Resources office is a formal notice to let you now that CSEA has requested from the College public records of wage and benefits information on faculty. We need this information on the actual cost of faculty salaries and benefits so we can make fair and factual proposals to the College as part of our negotiations.

The Negotiating Team has reached tentative agreement with the administration on some of the fundamental legal language of standard contracts. To help keep the process flexible, both teams have agreed not to disclose the details of any tentative agreements until a contract is ready to be submitted for ratification by both sides. Your suggestions have been helpful, and we will keep you up to date on what issues have been, or are being, discussed.

While it may seem that things are going slowly (and they are), we have had productive discussions about personal leave and the status of non-tenure track faculty, whose situation is a concern because several colleges in the nation have begun hiring faculty without including the protections of tenure. Preliminary talks about hiring procedures and intellectual property rights have produced many points of agreement that we believe will produce acceptable outcomes.

We have offered proposals covering grievance procedures and sabbatical leave. These have not yet been addressed, but we believe that we can reach tentative agreement soon on sabbatical.

Compensation and benefits issues will be dealt with last, so we are still a distance away from discussion of the salary schedule that we sent to you previously. The schedule would allow faculty to move up pay steps within rank, eliminating the current system that keeps faculty forever at the bottom of their pay ranges. A copy of the same basic proposal is attached, so you can see where your rank and years of service would place you in the schedule. Columbus State is one of the largest community colleges in the state, as well as the fastest growing. We can reasonably expect that this quarter's 13% increase in enrollment over Spring 2001 will be at least equaled Autumn Quarter, when students fleeing OSU's 30% tuition increase for incoming freshman will stretch the space available at CSCC. Yet our salaries even with 5% annual increases in the past are still the lowest among the three largest institutions and in the lower third of all Ohio community colleges. The College has an enviable reputation for the quality of its instruction and its educational programs, and that quality is largely the result of our collective (and individual) dedication and effort. The College is fiscally strong. Conservative budget projections, elimination of the free zone, new early-payment requirements, and an upcoming 6% tuition increase add up to an institution that is financially healthy. We believe that a salary schedule that actually allows faculty to advance within their pay ranges is both fair and reasonable.

We have received helpful responses to our recent surveys, and we encourage your continued input on any issues. Feel free to contact any member of the Negotiating Team with questions or suggestions. Our steady progress in memberships keeps us all strong. Remember that only union members will be able to vote to ratify or reject the proposed contract that will govern all of us. Join CSEA today.


What's Really Happening is produced by the Communications Committee of the Columbus State Education Association. We welcome your comments, news, and insights.

Steve Abbott, President / x5096
Karl Rieppel, Vice President / x2500
Amy Brubaker, Secretary and Association Representative / x5068
Greg Goodhart, Treasurer / x5431
Darrell Minor, Parliamentarian / x5310
Bill Mundy, Association Representative / x5176
Dr. Jane McDowell, Association Representative / x2656 
Dave Busch, Association Representative / x5079
Dr. Charlie Gallucci, Association Representative / x5499
Leslie Smith, Association Representative / x5302
Dr. Wendy McCullen-Vermillion, Association Representative / x2693
Lisa Schneider, Association Representative / x5124


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