LCC Faculty Colleagues –
I’m writing with a few updates for all faculty on our new contract, salaries, Board governance, the Administration’s “budget mitigation plan,” and more.
New Contract, Implementation, and Retro Pay
After faculty ratified our new TA in early March by a 97.5% vote, the Board of Education also voted to ratify our new contract on March 18 at a special meeting, so it is now in effect. The Administration is working on a draft document to incorporate all changes, which LCCEA will review in full once available. Once finalized and agreed to by both parties, the complete new contract will be provided to all faculty. In the meantime, please consult this folder of agreements for precise contract language.
The new salary schedules (see below) for this 25-26 year will be used beginning with the April 16 – April 30 pay period and will appear on the May 10 paycheck. [Update: HR has completed this work ahead of schedule and new salary schedules will be reflected in April 25 paycheck.] Retro pay from July 1, 2025 through April 15 will be processed by payroll and will be paid no later than the June 25 paycheck. We greatly appreciate the HR payroll staff who are working hard to implement both our new contract and the LCCEF contract for classified employees, which was ratified shortly before ours. In addition, LCCEA and the College are finalizing details of implementation to changes to Art. 35 (workload), which will be implemented beginning in Summer. As a result of this brief delay, all faculty working in Spring will receive a small lump sum payment, likely together with the retro pay on June 25.
Candidates on Your May 19 Primary Ballot
While LCCEA has not made any endorsements for the current primary races, I do wish to draw your attention to two important labor candidates on the May 19 Primary ballot. Jennifer Smith, the classified president of SEIU 085 at UO, is a well respected colleague running for Eugene City Council in Ward 3. Amit Kapoor, former LCCEA Vice-President for Part-Time faculty and instructor, is running for re-election as a Lane County Circuit Court judge for District 6. Amit taught in the Social Science division part-time while working as a public defender before initially becoming appointed as a Lane County Circuit Court judge by former Governor Kate Brown. I hope you will give these highly qualified candidates your consideration in the upcoming election.
Budget Mitigation Plan and April 22 Special Board Meeting
As you are likely aware the LCC Administration has put forward several iterations of a “Budget Mitigation Plan” to the Board of Education. For the Board’s March 18 work session, the Administration released more substantive information about the actual contents of the plan. In terms of programs and services with faculty impacts, the plan calls for reductions of the following:
- One full-time library faculty position
- Eliminating the Criminal Justice program (one full-time faculty position) and the Health Information Management program (two full-time faculty positions)
- Reductions of non-instructional faculty coordination time, including three faculty in the Multicultural Center, one faculty member in the Gender Equity Center, one faculty member in ABSE, one faculty member in Course-Embedded Tutoring, and the Employee Wellness coordination time.
Thank you to the dozens of faculty members who gave compelling public comment testimony, signed petitions, wrote letters, etc. on March 31 in support of these critical programs and services. While the Board of Education did ultimately vote to move forward with the plan, they have at least temporarily removed the Criminal Justice and HIM programs from the plan. In doing so, the Board affirmed their essential function in public oversight and support for a transparent, democratic process that involves the broader community, calling for a special meeting with time for public comment about the programs before they vote on their disposition. This Board of Education Special Meeting will be at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, shortly before the first meeting of the Board’s Budget Committee scheduled for 5 p.m. the first day.
In the meantime, LCCEA has provided this Cease and Desist letter to the LCC Administration because they are not adhering to our contract, nor state law, in moving forward with cuts that impact faculty. Unfortunately, the LCC Administration continues implementing the program cuts by, for instance, informing students and the accreditors (i.e. NWCCU) that the Criminal Justice and Health Information Management programs have already been suspended, despite the fact that the Board has postponed voting on these programs until April 22. These unilateral actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the role of our publicly-elected Board of Education, further jeopardize LCC’s accreditation, and likely amount to more unfair labor practices under the law.
False Austerity and Faulty Assumptions
An examination of the premise on which the Administration’s budget plan is based reveals exaggerated expenses and underestimated revenues that contribute to an impression of scarcity and a false need for austerity. For example, the Administration’s most recent budget forecasting model calls for salary increases of 7% for each of the next two years, far exceeding the COLAs provided to faculty and classified employees. At the same time they estimate tuition revenue and enrollment growth at only 1% when enrollment growth was on a 7% positive trajectory last summer – until the Administration began cancelling more than 100 sections this year leaving hundreds of tuition-paying students on waiting lists for Winter and Spring terms this year. The decision to dramatically cut course offerings, like the one to increase management staffing levels by 10% this year, reflects the real causes of a tight budget. In addition, proposals to cut programs that generate net revenue will only exacerbate budget concerns. The HIM program generates $35,000 in net revenue annually while Criminal Justice generates nearly $100,000 each year. In short, eliminating these programs would not save money; instead cutting HIM and Criminal Justice would negatively impact the LCC budget.
Please plan to attend the Board of Education Special Meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 and look for more information from your LCCEA Action Team soon.
Solidarity and Organizing
Like our LCCEA Bargaining and Action Teams, I am heartened by the extraordinary efforts of support of union members. 96+% signed strike pledges, and hundreds of faculty, students, and community members participated in organizing activities during the bargaining campaign, which absolutely made a huge impact on our success in achieving a new contract with exceedingly strong ratification support. Our solidarity and our resolve through the campaign are an incredibly solid foundation for the future of our faculty, our union, our community, and our broader democracy.
In solidarity,
Adrienne
Lane Community College Education Association 