mahe@lcc.edu

Contract 101
 A closer look at key provisions of your contract
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Frequently Asked Questions:
LCC Contract Highlights

by Marc Thomas

The 2005-2010 LCC / MAHE Collective Bargaining Agreement includes several new provisions. This article highlights some of the new provisions in the contract that have generated questions from members. This article, of course, does not include all the contractual changes, nor does it intend to answer all the questions members might have (please contact MAHE if you need more answers!).

We will highlight other provisions in future newsletters.

The following summaries are intended to shed some light on the new contract. For clarification or additional information, consult the contract or contact the MAHE Office at 483-1891 or by e-mail to mahe@lcc.edu.

Employee Leaves
(formerly known as ‘sick time’)
A New Letter of Agreement on the Leaves Policy was issued on July 9, 2008.  Two years of trying to reach an agreement on the former Leaves Policy in the current contract has passed, and in accordance with the language of our current contract, we now revert back to Appendix P - Employee Leaves Fallback in Fall of 2008.  This is a change from what we've been working with for the past two years so make sure you familiarize yourself with those new provisions.  Here is a link to that Letter of Agreement On Leaves, along with a link to the 2005-2010 MAHE contract.  Appendix P - Employee Leaves Fallback, is found on page 135 of the PDF document.

Time on Campus
Article XII. The Role of Faculty. “The goal of this agreement is to set a new standard in encouraging and recognizing the professional contributions of faculty.”

“Scheduling of time on campus shall be the shared responsibility of the individual instructor and supervisor …”

The agreement includes the following provisions for scheduling time on campus for full-time instructional faculty:

• Faculty members shall work on campus for at least three days per week for at least part of the day
• Faculty members shall work at least one day per week on campus where their department office is located
• If faculty members teach exclusively online and/or at an off-campus location, they must be on the campus where their department office is at least one day per week, with a schedule developed collaboratively between member and supervisor. [page 26]

Office Hours
Article XIII. Workload. E. Student Consultation. Adjunct faculty with teaching assignments must consult with students using one of the following methods:
• Place contact info on the course syllabus
• Place office hours on the syllabus
• Conduct interaction through regular online consultation

Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, some departments required adjunct faculty to schedule face-to-face office hours without compensation for those hours. Under the current agreement, if a department requires adjunct faculty to hold office hours, those hours must be paid. Otherwise, adjunct faculty may use one of the alternate methods listed above for student consultation. [p32]

Assignment of Courses
Course scheduling preferences are addressed in two sections of the collective bargaining agreement, Article XI. Employment Practices and Article XIII. Workload.
The current collective bargaining agreement has stronger language about seniority and faculty input into what courses they will teach each semester.

Article XI. Employment Practices. E. Full-time bargaining unit members. “Each semester the College will request schedule preferences from each full-time bargaining unit member. The preferences of the full-time bargaining unit members will be taken into consideration when assigning schedules.”

“After full-time bargaining unit members are assigned a schedule, the preference of the associate continuing contract bargaining unit members will be taken into consideration.” [p 22-23]

Article XIII. Workload. A. Work Assignments. “As much as possible, work assignments will be developed collaboratively between department chairs and faculty, using such considerations as:

• Student and department needs
• Seniority and faculty preferences
• Expertise and other applicable considerations” [p 26]

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Continuing Contract Benefits for Adjuncts
What are the benefits of Associate Continuing Contract (ACC) status?
By Kevin Krause

Let’s first talk about what ACC status is. ACC status is defined on page 23 in the MAHE contract in Article XI(G)(4).  This status is attained by part time faculty after the equivalent of nine (9) semesters of satisfactory teaching.

Adjuncts should receive a letter from Human Resources or their division when they reach ACC status, however, these letters often do not arrive at the beginning of the tenth semester of teaching. It is the position of MAHE that adjunct faculty in their tenth semester are entitled to ACC benefits even if the letter has not yet been received.

There are other benefits available to all adjunct faculty, that are not mentioned here. What is highlighted are benefits that become available, or change, once ACC status is achieved.

A summary of benefits, with a brief description, and contract reference is included below.

Medical Insurance: Employee may immediately participate in a subsidized plan— Article XXII, A, 4, c also e, 2 (pg 70)

Dental/Vision: May purchase at employee expense— Article XXII, B, 3 also C, 3 (pg 73)

Tuition Benefit: Benefit increases from 12 to 16 credits, and changes from employee only to employee and dependents— Article XXII, K, 2 (pg 76)

Professional Publications and/or Organizations: $50 yearly stipend— Article XXII, L (pg 76)

Parking opt-out: Prorated dollars for giving up parking privileges— Article XXII, O, 6 (pg 78)

For more details be sure to refer to the contract, or contact Teresa Villarreal, Benefits & Compensation Manager, (517) 483-1875 or villart@lcc.edu

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