What's Really Happening
Columbus State Education Association Newsletter of February 27, 2006
PRESIDENT IMPLEMENTS LAST/BEST/FINAL OFFER
The administration has imposed the terms of the tentative agreement rejected by faculty in voting on February 6-7. This includes all tentative agreements reached in negotiations last spring and summer, the findings of the Fact Finder covering non-compensation issues, the health care options imposed by the administration last spring, and salary increases of 3% for 2005-2006 and a 3.75% plus a $500 payment on the first paycheck after July 1 in both 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.
WHAT ARE THE PARTICULARS OF THE IMPLEMENTED TERMS?
Pursuant to the President's Update of last Thursday, you can obtain a copy of the formal document from the Human Resources office at x2408. We encourage you to request your own copy.
DON'T BELIEVE LIES
That may seem harsh, but once again College information officials have released to the media figures that are, quite simply, wrong. Intentional? Incompetent? You decide.
"Average" faculty salary figures provided by the administration and re-printed in last Friday's Columbus Dispatch overstated actual 3-quarter incomes for all ranks under the implemented terms.
Forget what the story said. It was flat-out wrong. The actual average 3-quarter salary for full-time faculty for 2005-2006 will be $41,099 for instructors, not $47,469 as claimed in the administration's documents (overstated by 15.5%); $48,446 for assistant professors, not $56,583 (overstated by 16.8%); $56,313 for associate professors, not $62,314 (overstated by 10.7%); and $71,404 for full professors, not $77,198 (overstated by 8.1%). The "average new salaries" claimed by the administration will not be realized even after the additional two years of raises provided for under its imposed terms.
Why do administration officials continue to report one set of "average" faculty salaries to the U.S. Department of Education and another to local media?
HEALTH CARE CHANGES
You should have received an email notice from the Payroll Office regarding open enrollment sessions that will allow you to change your health care plan coverage with United Health Care for the term ending June 30, 2006. Those sessions will occur:
- Monday, February 27, 2006 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM RH- 114
- Tuesday, February 28, 2006 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM RH- 114
This Open Enrollment period will allow you two days to review your health care option to decide if you wish to enroll in a different plan through June 30, 2006. A representative from UHC will be available during the meetings to answer your questions regarding plan options.
Faculty who are currently enrolled in the United Health Care plan and wish to remain in the option they enrolled in during the Spring Open Enrollment period last year do not have to complete any paperwork.
Please be aware that effective February 1, 2006, faculty who chose to remain or chose to enroll in the UHC Choice Plus Plan 068-M (Alternate 2) will see a change in the monthly premium. These changes are significant. You should consult the email notice from Human Resources to determine how much your costs will increase, in either premiums or newly created deductibles, under each option.
WORKING TO THE RULE
Under conditions in which the administration imposes terms rather than comes to a contract agreement, faculty should continue to work to the rule, declining committee work that does not directly benefit faculty. In her email Update of last Thursday, Dr. Moeller appeared to make a threat to deny promotion or tenure to faculty who work to the rule. Any such action by the administration would be both an unfair labor practice and grounds for legal action by both the Association and any individual faculty member.
Junior faculty who are concerned about performing service necessary for promotion should keep in mind that the new Promotion & Tenure processes offer options not previously available. Since the new promotion guidelines allow faculty to select activity in a number of areas to qualify for promotion (rather than to perform activity in specified areas), faculty can fulfill requirements for promotion through various categories other than various committee work, including service to the profession, service to the community, and professional development. Last year, many junior faculty were active in grant-based community outreach activities in their professional areas. In the same way, for past several years faculty seeking promotion have cited their work with CSEA as service to the College. We encourage junior faculty to become more involved in CSEA community outreach and service committees. We continue to have faith in the fairness and integrity of the faculty-based peer review that our Promotion & Tenure process provides.
A WORD FROM CSEA'S PRESIDENT.
Dr. Moeller's Update of Feb. 23 expressed concern about faculty being subjected to "pressure" to engage or not engage in various activities at the College. CSEA shares that concern and is willing to address any behavior intended to, in the President's words, "harass, coerce, or intimidate.faculty members." We hope the administration shares the same concern and willingness to employ its influence on behalf of junior faculty whose support for CSEA has been met with veiled threats from hostile senior faculty within some programs.
Any administrator who has received a complaint from a faculty member about ANY threats, expressed or implied, is ethically and legally bound to take action under both College policy and state law. As always, CSEA remains willing to address actual situations for which any employee is willing to provide honest information. We can not confront problems that exist only in the minds of administrators, and in the absence of any evidence, CSEA maintains that such "concerns" claimed by administrators are fabrications designed to stifle legitimate debate about issues critical to the welfare of faculty.
As CSEA President, I remain available to discuss these issues and individual concerns with any faculty member.
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