Tentative Agreement Reached with
State for Full-time Bargaining Unit
After 14 months of difficult negotiations with the State and the State College/University presidents, the Council of New Jersey State College Locals reached a tentative agreement late Monday evening on July 2. This agreement protects working conditions for more than four thousand full-time faculty, librarians and professional staff. The State’s large and onerous list of demands for givebacks was unprecedented in the Council’s bargaining history, forcing the Council’s negotiating team to tenaciously defend hard fought for items in our contract that have been extremely important over the last several decades. This tentative agreement is subject to member ratification.
Among the more onerous proposals that we were successful in getting the State to withdraw:
- Academic Year and Faculty Responsibilities – Would have redefined the academic year to June 30, which would have required faculty to return to campus after graduation to perform any other duties the college/university desired. Additionally, it would have required 5 office hours and eliminated the 32 weeks of instruction in the current contract.
- Vacation Time for Professional Staff & Librarians – Would have forced professional staff and librarians to use up to ten days of their vacation leave if the college/university decided to implement a full or partial closure for any reason.
- Compensation for Outside Funded Activities – Would have reduced the amount of additional compensation provided to faculty working on external grants.
- Special Sick Leave – Would have imposed a 6 month career limit on the use of Special Sick Leave.
- Teaching Credits for Labs & Studios – Would have reduced the credit hour equation by 50%.
- Non-renewable Teaching Contracts – Would have increased the allowed percentage of non-renewable Teaching Contracts thereby reducing the number of tenured faculty positions.
- Just Cause: State withdrew its proposal to eliminate just cause reasons for termination during a multi-year contract period.
Major items agreed to:
- Salary Increase – 2011 -0%, 2012 -0%, 2013 – 1%, 2014 – 1.75%; these are the same increases that were agreed to by CWA & IFPTE. However, unlike the CWA & IFPTE agreements, the State had also proposed language that would have allowed the colleges/universities to not pay these increases unless they were fully funded through the legislature. The State withdrew that language and the existing contract language remains in place.The language also preserves the salary guide and steps at the end of the contract that the State and college/university presidents had wished to eliminate.
Steps (Increments) - Steps that would have been due after June 30, 2012 will be paid retroactive to July 1, 2012, on the same anniversary dates they would have been paid in the last fiscal year). These payments will be made after ratification. Additionally, steps will be paid in 2013 and 2014. Unlike CWA & IFPTE, the State and college/university presidents wanted us to give up two years of step increases. Ultimately, we only lost the one year of these increases. What this means is that if you were due to move up a step on your anniversary date last year (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012), you will now receive that step on your same anniversary date this fiscal year (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013.) For employees who are on the higher steps and were not yet due a step increase, any time accrued up until the freeze on July 1, 2011 will continue to add up again beginnng July 1, 2012.
- Multi Year Appointments for Professional Staff - There is no change for all current employees and any employees hired prior to contract ratification, meaning that these employees will continue to be eligible for multi-year contracts up to five years and that existing language will govern these appointments. Professional staff hired after contract ratification will be eligible for a three year multi-year contract after the first 5 probationary years of service and two more three year multi-year contracts. Thereafter, all subsequent multi -year appointments shall be four years.
- Summer Session Rate: Increased by a total of $200 in years 3 & 4 at a $100 increase per year..
RANK
2011
2012
2013
2014
Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Director in the Library (Professor in the Library) Librarian I (Associate Professor in the Library)
$1300
$1300
$1400
$1500
Assistant Professor, Instructor, Librarian II (Assistant Professor in the Library) Librarian III (Instructor in the Library)
$1250
$1250
$1350
$1450
Professional Staff
$1250
$1250
$1350
$1450
Overload Rate: Increased by a total of $200 in years 3 & 4 at a $50 increase per semester.
Title
Sept 2011
Sept 2012
Sept. 2013
Jan. 2014
Sept 2014
Jan. 2015
Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Director in the Library (Professor in the Library) Librarian I (Associate Professor in the Library)
$1300
$1300
$1350
$1400
$1450
$1500
Assistant Professor, Instructor, Librarian II (Assistant Professor in the Library) Librarian III (Instructor in the Library)
$1250
$1250
$1300
$1350
$1400
$1450
Professional Staff
$1250
$1250
$1300
$1350
$1400
$1450
- Health Benefits in Retirement – Preserved existing language in the contract that outlines members’ health benefits in retirement and includes those covered in the health benefit/pension reform law that passed in 2010.
- Out of Title Work for Professional Staff - Colleges/University's must now pay for out of title work. Prior to this
agreement they were not required to.
Items reserved for local negotiations:
- The colleges/universities proposed that several issues be reserved for local negotiations. Additionally, many of the institutions’ presidents claimed that their members would get a better deal if the items below are locally negotiated. With these agreements it will now be incumbent on these presidents to make good on their claim.
- Sabbaticals – Each college/university must have a locally negotiated sabbatical leave program. We preserved existing terms for sabbatical leaves that included the salary paid for half year and full year sabbaticals in Article XXVII (page 77) of the current Agreement. However, the current language only had a maximum number of sabbaticals allowable, but it was not a mandatory number to be awarded. Now, locals and their administrations can negotiate for a set minimum number of sabbaticals.
- Career Development – Previously, the total combined amount of monies allotted to Career Development and Tuition Reimbursement was $350,000. The new agreement requires the colleges/universities to fund a Career Development Fund at the rate of $60 per full-time unit member for each fiscal year of the new contract. Institutions can fund the program at a higher rate if they desire and application procedures must be negotiated with the local union. Any unused funds from a Career Development program shall be transferred to the Tuition Reimbursement Program.
- Tuition Reimbursement - The new agreement requires the colleges/universities to fund a Tuition Reimbursement Fund at the rate of $25 per full-time unit member for each fiscal year of the new contract. Application procedures must be negotiated with the local union. Any unused funds from the Tuition Reimbursement Program shall be transferred to the Career Development Program.
- Tuition Waiver Program – Preserved existing contract language until such time as the institution and local union negotiate a new agreement.
A Contract Ratification vote will take place in September. Ballots will be mailed to full dues paying members on September 7, 2012 and must be postmarked or received in the Council office by 3 PM September 28, 2012. Ballots will be counted on October 3, 2012. Any ballot not received by September 28th will not be counted.
For an entire listing of the items agreed to and the exact language, go here.
