LCCEA President August 20 Letter to LCC Board of Ed

Posted on August 25, 2025 by LCCEA

Esteemed Board of Education Members,

I am writing with some additional follow up information. The annual Administration spending on outside attorney costs detailed in the chart below amounting to more than $829K with more than $358K in FY25 alone is data provided by the LCC Administration in response to a request for this public information specifically about LCC spending on attorney fees related to labor/ LCCEA faculty issues. The request for information did not include other legal costs incurred by LCC, and that information has not been made publicly available, and we have no estimates for the total outside attorney costs.

I do note that the $829K cumulative total for legal fees on the chart below far exceeds the $675K amount that is built into the FY25 budget for unspecified program and service cuts. We are dismayed to see this level of spending on legal fees when cuts should be unnecessary. At the same time, management staffing levels are being increased in the budget by 10% from the current all-time historic high of 72 managers to 79 for the 25-26 fiscal year.

On behalf of LCCEA, I ask that you please take the time review the attached memo sent by LCCEA officers in September of 2024 with specific recommendations for actions that the Board can take in directing the Administration to create a learning and working environment that is free from labor disputes and unlawful unfair labor practice activity. The people of Lane County whom you represent are counting on you to fulfill your fiduciary responsibility to the community by seeking settlements and resolution to ensure that excess spending on unnecessary escalation and litigation with the employees of the college does not continue.

In addition, upon further review of the data, we have found that in FY25 alone, LCC spent $271,965.89 alone on legal fees to Ogletree Deakins. This firm represented LCC in the unfair labor practice hearing as well as an arbitration hearing on ABSE and ESL. After the hearing, it became clear that LCCEA would prevail, and the LCC Administration finally agreed to settlement discussions in earnest with a state-provided mediator. The mediation proved fruitful with a fair settlement reached. However, hundreds of thousands of dollars could have been saved if LCC Administration had engaged in good faith settlement discussions from the outset. 

Importantly, LCCEA remains gravely concerned about LCC Administration spending on Ogletree Deakins, given the general lack of Oregon public sector labor law knowledge and experience on the part of the attorneys who represented LCC. In particular, Kristi Foy represented LCC and is not admitted to the Oregon Bar. LCCEA has made multiple reports to the Board of Education in writing and in public meetings about the increased spending, the revolving door of attorneys representing the LCC Administration with most leaving after one issue/ case and declining to work with LCC Administration again. It is particularly troubling that the expenses paid to this one single firm are so high when the attorney, Kristi Foy, who represented LCC at the most recent arbitration hearing with LCCEA is not admitted to the Oregon Bar. 

unnamed (2).jpg

Thank you, as always, for your dedicated volunteer service to LCC. Your active participation in public oversight of the institution is critical to our broader democracy and the public good.

Respectfully,

Adrienne

Posted in General | Leave a comment

LCCEA Rally September 3 @ 5:00 pm Outside Center Building

Posted on August 13, 2025 by LCCEA

Thanks to our local DSA community organization, led by students and community members, for creating this flyer to demonstrate solidarity with and support for LCCEA bargaining faculty efforts. They support LCCEA bargaining to address student basic needs and create the conditions where faculty can do their best work in service of students and the broader community.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

LCCEA President Letter to LCC Board of Education

Posted on July 26, 2025 by LCCEA

Esteemed Board of Education Members,

I’m writing regarding the recent ruling by the Employment Relations Board, which confirms that the LCC Administration engaged in unlawful activity –  Unfair Labor Practices –  in their treatment of faculty and our faculty union (below). On behalf of the faculty, I am writing to respectfully request that the Board of Education provide direction to the Administration to change course and to make every effort to take a collaborative, productive approach to labor relations. 

The Employment Relations Board – a panel of three judges – issued a final decision and order on July 22, 2025 regarding the unfair labor practices the College committed, which were the subject of May 2024 and April 2025 hearings.

The panel of judges found that the College Administration engaged in several unfair labor practices when LCC violated ORS 243.672(1)(a) on two counts as well as ORS 243.672(1)(b) and ORS 243.672(1)(e). This statutory language is pasted below for your reference, and the full decision is below.

243.672 Unfair labor practices; complaints; filing fees. (1) It is an unfair labor practice for a public employer or its designated representative to do any of the following:

   (a) Interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in or because of the exercise of rights guaranteed in ORS 243.662.

   (b) Dominate, interfere with or assist in the formation, existence or administration of any employee organization.

   … 

   (e) Refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with the exclusive representative. …

The judges determined that the College Administration violated ORS 243.672(1)(a) by engaging in surveillance of union emails on the faculty email list. The judges’ order also confirms that the LCC Administration violated ORS 243.672(1)(a) by threatening Faculty Council with legal action and seeking to prohibit legally-protected discussion at their Council meeting.

In addition, the ERB panel of judges found that the College Administration engaged in unlawful direct dealing and violated ORS 342.672(1)(b) and (1)(e) by dealing directly both with a group of faculty members and also through a survey of faculty-at-large over potential changes which would require bargaining.

In addition to ordering LCC to cease and desist from these unlawful violations of the PECBA (i.e., Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act), the ERB panel of judges has also issued an order that the LCC Administration, within ten days of July 22, 2025, must post a notice both physically on campus as well as by email to all LCC faculty members regarding the unlawful conduct by LCC Administration. According to the order, the ERB generally requires such postings when they: 

“determine that a party’s violations of PECBA: (1) were calculated or flagrant; (2) were part of a continuing course of illegal conduct; (3) were perpetrated by a significant number of a Respondent’s personnel; (4) affected a significant portion of bargaining unit employees; (5) had a significant potential or actual impact on the functioning of the designated bargaining representative as the representative; or (6) involved a strike, lockout, or discharge.” 

These legal violations, while significant on their own, form part of a broader pattern of Administration retaliation toward faculty and other campus members over the past three years directed toward those who speak up and who advocate for justice on campus, evincing Administration intolerance for divergent viewpoints and anti-union sentiment, which LCCEA and other faculty members have cited in numerous Board reports and public comment. At the same time, we recently received updated data from the LCC Administration on their escalating legal fees, expended from our precious public dollars, creating undue pressure on the LCC budget. Please see the chart below.

Faculty are deeply committed to productive labor relations, which also contribute positively to our campus, our students, and our community. We would like to see your leadership in ensuring the conditions on campus are transformed in order to allow us to do our best work in serving students, which is at the center of all we do.

Productive labor relations do require a demonstrated commitment from management, and your explicit direction and guidance to set the tone and expectations are necessary. As the supreme governing body at Lane Community College, voters and community members are counting on you as our Board members to provide direction to the Administration and to create the college the broader community deserves. 

It is our sincere hope that you will consider this in earnest and take immediate action to help move LCC in a more positive, collaborative, productive direction – one that: welcomes and encourages the free exchange of ideas; seeks settlement over disputes; and ensures a reasonable, fair approach to contract negotiations that honors faculty as professionals rather than one that continues to create more strife. For your reference, I am also including a letter the elected officers of LCCEA sent to the Board last September 2024 with specific recommendations for actionable, measurable steps that would improve labor relations. 

Thank you for your consideration and, as always, for your dedicated service on the Board and your representation of the people of Lane County,

Most sincerely,

Adrienne–

Adrienne Mitchell, M.A., M.Ed.

Faculty Member, Academic Learning Skills Department

President, Lane Community College Education Association

Vice President, Oregon Education Association Community College Council

Website: lccea.org

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lccea/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LCCEAAction/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/college_lane

UP-060-23 Final Order w NoticeDownload
LCCEA Improving Labor Relations Message to Board Sept 3 2024Download
Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Employment Relations Board Ruling Update

Posted on July 26, 2025 by LCCEA

LCC Faculty Colleagues —

I hope your summer is going well whether you are on campus or off. 

I am writing to share with you a brief update. The Employment Relations Board, which is a panel of three judges, issued a ruling and order finding that the LCC Administration engaged in several unlawful unfair labor practices. (See full decision below.)

Specifically, the judges determined that the College Administration violated ORS 243.672(1)(a) by engaging in surveillance of union emails on the faculty email list. This is especially concerning in light of the Administration’s recent proposal in bargaining to eliminate language in our contract that protects faculty privacy rights. 

The judges’ order also confirms that the LCC Administration violated ORS 243.672(1)(a) by threatening Faculty Council with legal action and seeking to prohibit legally-protected discussion at their Council meeting.

In addition, the ERB panel of judges found that the LCC Administration engaged in unlawful direct dealing and violated ORS 243.672(1)(b) and (1)(e) by dealing directly both with a group of faculty members and also through a survey of bargaining unit members over potential changes which would require bargaining.

Finally, because of this unlawful activity, the Employment Relations Board has issued an order requiring the LCC Administration to post a notice about their legal violations and to send the notice to all LCC faculty members by email. You should expect to receive the email notice from the LCC Administration within ten days of  July 22, 2025.

Please find more details below in a message that I sent to the LCC Board of Education advocating for a positive, productive, collaborative approach to labor relations in light of this decision. 

While it is troubling that the LCC Administration has engaged in unfair labor practices, I am hopeful that this decision will be a catalyst for change and remain unwavering in my commitment to working together with you all to create the conditions on campus where faculty can do our best work in service of students — a campus where the Administration engages in transparent, inclusive decision making characterized by ethics and integrity; seeks settlement over disputes; takes a reasonable, fair approach to contract negotiations that honors faculty as professionals; and, importantly in an ever more fragile democracy, welcomes and encourages the free exchange of ideas.

All my best,

Adrienne

UP-060-23 Final Order w NoticeDownload
LCCEA Improving Labor Relations Message to Board Sept 3 2024Download
Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bargaining Update: Admin Proposes Cuts to Faculty Privacy Rights; Impacts to LPN Program; and MOA Clean-Up

Posted on June 27, 2025 by LCCEA

LCC Faculty Colleagues –

Your LCCEA faculty bargaining leads met with the Administration again today for bargaining. 

Our time-sensitive priority focused on impacts to the LPN (i.e., Licensed Practical Nursing) program. The College presented a counter-offer of only 100 hours paid at the curriculum development rate to be divided among all affected or interested Nursing faculty. They made no other initial offer to address the impacts to faculty or students of the sudden program hiatus. 

Your LCCEA Team consulted with faculty, including LPN and Nursing faculty, who confirmed that the offer was insulting. We then prepared a more reasonable counter offer (below). We exchanged two more proposals and are close to an agreement that would provide 300 curriculum development hours and includes a stipulation that no affected Nursing faculty member will have their FTE reduced next year. The College also provided confirmation that student application fees have been refunded and provided assurance that they will provide the curriculum development funding even if the LPN program is reinstated for next year by the Board of Education.

In addition, your bargaining leads made a proposal to clean up many outstanding MOAs. This included eliminating eleven MOAs that are no longer relevant or rarely used. Furthermore, we proposed maintaining the Part-time Coaches MOA and the Hyflex MOA, which provides reduced class sizes for Hyflex modality classes. Moreover, we proposed incorporating a number of MOAs into the contract. These include Section 125 medical reimbursement contributions, class cancellation protections, office hour provisions, college governance reassignment time and compensation, JEDI curriculum development funding and faculty positions, re-employment of retired employees, among others. (See below.)

Your LCCEA Team also provided an updated proposal on Oregon Residency with clarifying language to align with the agreement reached in December with the College as well as an updated proposal to ensure the full contract utilizes gender neutral language, which has been a longstanding priority for faculty.  

The College presented a proposal on non-discrimination that includes some of the language we had proposed but still excludes many critical safeguards such as protection against discrimination on the basis of immigration status, union activity, height, and weight. 

Additionally, the Administration presented a proposal that strips privacy protection language from Article 16. This would remove our existing contract language that protects the privacy of faculty mailboxes, offices, email, phones, computers, and personal material. (See below.)

On a positive yet inconsequential note, we signed a Tentative Agreement (TA) to eliminate ten expired MOAs that were no longer in effect.

We greatly appreciated the exceptional showing of faculty who attended today’s session to observe in person during Summer! Faculty are always welcome to attend.

All bargaining sessions are scheduled in building 2, room 214, 1–4pm. We will resume bargaining on September 11th and again on September 30.

We look forward to seeing you soon, and please look for more information from the Action Team about ways to support faculty goals for our contract.

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team Leads,

Gerry Meenaghan
Adrienne Mitchell
April Myler
Peggy Oberstaller
Ryan Olds
Russell Shitabata
Kellen Wilson

LCCEA Proposals Session 6/26/2025

College Proposals Session 6/26/25

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment