Lane Community College Education Association

LCC Faculty Colleagues,

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team met with the College again Monday for an extended bargaining session. The pace of bargaining has quickened as the two parties strive to reach an agreement within a reasonable timeframe before Fall. The College had sent a response (below) by email in advance of our meeting, and your LCCEA Bargaining Team, in turn, presented a response (below).

We have reached agreement on many points. 

The most significant issue of disagreement is whether the College will “assign” faculty to teach synchronously. The College representatives have voiced their strong opinion that managers have the right to assign faculty to teach remote courses synchronously. At the same time College representatives have not answered questions about what they do / do not plan to require, which makes it challenging to understand the College’s position and intent. 

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team has continued to advocate for honoring faculty expertise as academic professionals by allowing faculty discretion in determining how to teach their remote classes, including whether to include synchronous time and how much, consistent with Article 15.2 academic freedom protections.

We will meet again next Monday.

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team
Kelly Collins
Christina Howard
Adrienne Mitchell
Russell Shitabata

Please find below responses to frequently asked questions on Faculty Coordinator/Faculty Chair FASA assignments.

Faculty Coordinator/Faculty Chair FASA FAQ

What is a FASA?

A FASA is a Faculty Administrative Support Assignment.

What are examples of FASAs?

Faculty Chairs, program leads, discipline leads, faculty departmental or divisional coordinators, and faculty with release time for specific assignments are FASAs.

Where can one find more information about contractual guidelines for FASAs?

Article 38 of the faculty contract is devoted to FASAs. The current 2019-2024 contract is posted at: https://lccea.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2019-2024-lccea-lane-contract-07-20-2020.pdf

Are the recently announced Faculty Coordinator assignments FASAs?

Yes – they are Discipline and Department/Division Level FASAs outlined in 38.3 and relevant sub articles of the faculty contract. (Please note: FASAs, which may be called “coordinators,” differ from permanent program coordinator positions for faculty who were hired as coordinators in their original external LCC job posting.)

What role can deans and faculty play in customizing assignment descriptions for FASAs?

Consistent with 38.3.3, “Specific assignment descriptions of FASAs will be developed by the responsible department/division chair/manager in consultation with stakeholders.”

What is the process for filling the new Faculty Coordinator FASA roles?

Consistent with 12.6, all qualified, eligible faculty (e.g. contracted faculty in the department, discipline, or division) must be informed in writing and have the opportunity to apply. Contracted faculty are eligible for FASA positions.

How are FASAs selected?

Consistent with 38.3.4, individual faculty assigned to FASAs must be recommended by all faculty members affected by the position (or selected by rotation) subject to approval of the appropriate manager. The recommendation process may be conducted through regular departmental decision-making processes (e.g. voting, consensus, etc.).

Do FASAs supervise classified staff or faculty?

No. FASAs specifically exclude supervisory duties. (See 38.2.1)

Is it possible for a faculty member who serves as a FASA to return to full-time teaching?

Yes. FASAs are not permanent. They have fixed terms, and reappointment may occur. In addition, faculty may resign from FASA assignments, and FASAs retain seniority rights and the right to return to their regular position. (See 38.2.2, 38.2.5, and 38.2.7).

Is it possible for a faculty member to be required to serve as a FASA or Faculty Coordinator?

No. Consistent with 38.2.9, “No employee shall be required to accept such assignments.”

Lane Community College Education AssociationLCCEA is the faculty union representing the 200 full-time and 375 part-time faculty of Lane Community College.

Our mission

LCCEA engages in collective action to ensure an equitable learning and working environment and advocates for social justice and systemic change for the public good.

LCC Faculty Colleagues,

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team met with the College again on Monday and made the attached proposal. 

The teams had a productive discussion and made progress on a number of issues, including movement toward agreement on:

* protection from loss of salary for faculty who exhaust leave but are required to quarantine;

* appropriate PPE for face-to-face work; 

* remote work options for faculty at-risk; and 

* accommodations for faculty not at-risk but who request a remote work accommodation or other alternatives, if remote work is not possible, such as the option to use paid or unpaid leave. 

One substantial point of disagreement is whether the college assigns faculty to teach synchronously when providing remote instruction.

In addition, we proposed a process that would allow faculty whose requests to teach face-to-face are denied to appeal on the basis of instructional and student learning needs to a Faculty Council appointed committee, which would make recommendations about the disposition of the appeal. The College voiced strong objections to creation of an appeal process and such a committee.

The teams will meet again next Monday.

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team

Kelly Collins

Christina Howard

Adrienne Mitchell

Russell Shitabata

August 6, 2020

LCC Faculty Colleagues,

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team met with College representatives on Monday. After nearly three hours of discussion, both sides came away with a better understanding of each other’s interests. For instance, the College articulated an interest in maintaining the possibility that face-to-face faculty work could include lecture and/or student services (e.g. counseling).

Please find an updated LCCEA proposal here: Coronavirus Phase1-2 Working Conditions MOA Draft.

The proposal:
* Continues to provide remote work options for faculty in OHA designated at-risk categories;
* Ensures faculty in expanded categories of risk not identified by OHA (e.g. BIPOC, age 60+) or with a vulnerable household member have the option of working remotely or receiving other reasonable accommodations;
* Provides more specific language on PPE for faculty working face-to-face;
* Ensures faculty are respected as professionals with discretion over pedagogy in their classes and without monitoring by deans or other managers;
* Provides CD funding for part-time faculty teaching new courses online or remotely;
* Provides additional compensation for faculty with extra teaching time resulting from social distancing when teaching face-to-face;
* Allows faculty to access campus with a requirement to report visits through a streamlined process but without a requirement that faculty request permission; and
* Protects faculty personal health data,
* among other provisions.

In addition to the proposal, your Bargaining Team also presented a Resolution on Reopening from the LCCEA Executive Council, which includes the following data from the most recent all- faculty survey with 342 participants:
* 93% of faculty strongly support or support, with 85% expressing strongest
support for, allowing faculty members in an at-risk category to work
remotely;
* more than 91% of faculty strongly support or support, with 82% expressing
strongest support for, allowing faculty members with an at-risk household
member to teach remotely;
* 89% of faculty indicate it is very important or important, with the majority
choosing very important, to honor academic freedom so that faculty teaching
remotely make decisions about instructional methods, including whether to
teach synchronously, asynchronously, or a combination of the two;
* more than 90% of faculty indicate that it is very important or important, with the
strong majority choosing very important, that faculty choose whether to teach
face-to-face; and
* 88% of faculty strongly support or support, with more than 75% expressing
strongest support for, ensuring that faculty are provided the opportunity to
participate in developing departmental reopening plans.

We look forward to reaching a reasonable agreement that honors faculty as professionals and protects the health and safety of faculty and the campus community without further delay so that the college may indeed proceed with reopening and so that we may turn our collective attention to the college mission.

Your LCCEA Bargaining Team
Kelly Collins
Christina Howard
Adrienne Mitchell
Russell Shitabata