NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2 , 2005
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COLUMBUS STATE FACULTY REJECT
FACT FINDER'S RECOMMENDATIONS
Members of the Columbus State Education Association (CSEA) overwhelmingly rejected a fact finder's recommendations that would conclude four months of negotiations with Columbus State Community College.
The Association represents the college's 260 full-time faculty, who have been working under the terms of their initial collective bargaining agreement, which expired June 30.
Nearly 90% of voting members rejected the recommendations.
The Columbus State Board of Trustees voted to reject the fact finder's report at its July 28 meeting. In a statement following the vote, Board Chair Dr. Susan Finn said the Board wants "one consistent healthcare plan for all employees" and opposes the fact finder's recommendation of annual 3.5% raises for faculty.
Rejection of a fact finder's report by either party means a return to negotiations.
CSEA president Steve Abbott said the faculty vote demonstrated solidarity with the negotiating team.
"We'll go back to the bargaining table with the solid support that will be needed to secure a salary schedule with reasonable pay increases and to protect our share of health care costs," Abbott said.
The Columbus State Board approved 2.5% raises for its non-union employees and instituted a new health care plan earlier this year.
The college's new health care plan will increase costs to faculty by 75% over costs for comparable coverage last year, according to Abbott.
"In a time when CEO compensation packages are so out of line with employee wages and benefits," he said, "it's absurd for the Board to dramatically increase employee health care costs and offer a raise that's less than the rate of inflation in the same year it increases the President's compensation by more than 8 per cent."
Abbott said that the Association also had hoped to improve the ratio of full-time faculty to students.
"Our faculty are committed to their students and to the college," Abbott said, "We are also committed to negotiating a salary schedule that develops fair compensation and to resisting the Board's attempt to force employees to shoulder all the increase in health care costs."
A date for resumption of negotiations has not been set.