November 25, 2015 Meeting

Agenda

Taft College Faculty Association Agenda

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

 

  1. Welcome and Lunch

 

  1. Approval of Minutes from October meeting

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report

 

  1. TCFCBC Update
    1. Retiree Health Benefits for New Hires
    2. Non-Credit vs. Credit Loads

 

  1. Screening Committee Training

 

  1. Other

 

  1. Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 12, 2016, 12:10pm, Location: Cougar Room (Lunch will be provided) (Every 4th Wednesday)

Minutes

Call to Order

President Diane Jones called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m..

 

Approval of Minutes

David Layne made a motion, seconded by Kelly Kulzer, to approve the minutes. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Treasurer’s Report

Cash Balance: President Diane Jones reported a balance of $11,027.21 before lunch.

 

TCFCBC Bargain Updates

A). Retiree Health Benefits: President Jones reported that while this discussion is still in progress, the Administration did provide the previously requested data that disaggregated all employee groups according to the cost of retiree health benefits and those who currently receive those benefits. Several options were brought forward. Among them was the “opt-out” option where one could opt, presumably for a partner’s benefits, in lieu of the District’s. While this option may not serve members’ interests the best since one cannot opt back in, it did feature a cash incentive based on years of service and a percentage (~25%) of the benefit amount (~$20,000) for the four-five years one would receive it. The District is interested in this option since a lowered participation should decrease the District’s liability. President Jones indicated the bargaining team is interested in including an option where new faculty would be compensated for a higher number of years of previous service/experience. President Jones concluded with these points: faculty over age 65 are covered under TC’s supplement benefit plan, and this discussion will continue as Administration researches options.

 

B). Non-Credit vs. Credit Loads: President Jones summarized the history of noncredit at TC as follows: excluding Independent Living Skills (ILS), TC offers 10 non-credit courses that affects several faculty. Prior to 2015, the full-time ESL faculty’s load was 15 units but was changed after the semester began with a caveat mentioning the 20 unit load on the load sheet, so past practice presents a compelling case. The second faculty member teaching predominantly ILS courses was previously split between two faculty, but the load sheets inconsistently included the 20-unit load. President Jones mentioned that wages are a mandatory subject of bargaining.

 

Statewide Career Development and College Preparatory (CDCP) courses have been brought up to the same level of compensation as credit. The District seems interested in compensating faculty, but Taft College does not have CDCP-designated courses, so it plans to refocus its efforts on paying all faculty at 15 units.

 

Other points were raised during this discussion: the contract does not distinguish between credit- and non-credit. Maintaining that equity is preferable to a two-tiered system. Adjunct faculty are paid at full load for non-credit courses. The TIL salary isn’t paid by the District but by TIL.

 

President Jones concluded the discussion with two clarifications on the contract: once a faculty member meets load, s/he is not mandated to do overload, although overload isn’t guaranteed. The District’s job is to assign load and has right of assignment up to 15 units, which can be divided unevenly over semesters as long as the load adds up to 30 units.

 

 

 

Screening Committee Training

President Jones recommended training, which is required every two years to meet the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plan. It will be offered December 4th and January 7th and requires one to RSVP with HR. The cut-off for training to serve on screening committees is January 30th. It was mentioned that with the search for a new superintendent/president and upcoming faculty positions, EEO training is important.

 

Other

Association members thanked President Jones for her hard work. Another point was raised regarding transferring to Canvas and faculty compensation according to the past practice of the Etudes implementation since transferring will save the campus $40,000 three years. President Jones mentioned that she has spoken to the Vice President of Instruction about how faculty were given flex credit, salary credit, and stipends for Etudes training; however, those who volunteered in the spring cannot be paid because it was not offered to everyone, although it could be paid retroactively. If the campus decides to adopt Canvas, then the bargaining team will pursue compensation options.

 

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 12:57 p.m..

Supporting Docs

 

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