Bargaining Update July 27, 2020
LCC Faculty Colleagues,
The College provided the following response to the LCCEA proposal regarding working conditions for reopening without an explanation:
Coronavirus Phase1-2 WorkingConditions 7 27 20
Your LCCEA Bargaining Team finds that the College’s response meets virtually none of the baseline requirements to ensure faculty safety and other working conditions interests. It is unacceptable for numerous reasons, including:
Health and Safety
1) Risk:
* Exclusion of proposed binding language that would ensure faculty who are at-risk under OHA guidelines are provided the opportunity to work remotely
* Exclusion of language that would ensure faculty who are at-risk under expanded guidelines or who are members of groups disparately impacted by covid-19 are provided the opportunity to work remotely
* Exclusion of language that would ensure that faculty who have an at-risk household member are provided the opportunity to work remotely
2) Protection for faculty teaching face-to-face:
* Even though face coverings will be required and provided under the current Reopening Plan, exclusion of a provision that would require via binding language that the College will provide face coverings to students who arrive on campus without one
* Exclusion of language that would require the College to provide PPE such as N95 masks to faculty teaching face-to-face upon request
* Removal of language that would maintain insurance for part-time faculty who would lose insurance over summer even though they are expected to teach in Fall. (The College has recently provided notice to 21 part-time faculty members who have been teaching at LCC from 1 – 26 years with an average of 9.5 years of service — the vast majority of whom will be teaching again in Fall. This would mean the faculty would lose insurance for 3 months or more and could possibly be teaching face-to-face without insurance in the middle of a pandemic.)* Exclusion of language that would protect faculty privacy and prohibit the collection of daily health assessment data from faculty, which could be implemented via a third party app and cause private health data to be available to the third party
* Establishment of a new requirement that all remote and online instruction be delivered through Moodle
* Inclusion of language that allows managers and administrators to access and review faculty Moodle shells
* Exclusion of language that protects faculty academic freedom in presentation of course material, including discretion over course delivery modality, in violation of the current contract
Other impacts to working conditions due to pandemic
* Exclusion of language that would allow faculty who need childcare to access open spaces at the campus child development center even though faculty would be required to pay for the childcare
* Removal of language that would provide that faculty access to campus is not limited more than limitations set by the Governor
Needless to state, the College response is not one that will facilitate an agreement. These issues, which have a direct and substantial impact on faculty safety, must be resolved in a manner that respects faculty as professionals and protects the health and safety of faculty, students, the campus community and beyond. Please contact lcceaaction@lanecc.edu for more information on actions you can consider to support a reasonable agreement.
At this time, it appears the College is unavailable to meet until August 3 due to furloughs and vacations.
Your LCCEA Bargaining Team
Lane Community College Education Association 