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.
Learning Council meets the second and fourth Friday of each month, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Technology Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month, 3:00-4:30 (winter term appointment only)
Please note that LCC’s governance system is currently under review. For more information about Lane’s current system and the work of each council, please see: https://www.lanecc.edu/governance
Responsibilities for LCCEA appointees to governance councils include:
Attending (Diversity, Finance, Learning, or Technology) Council meetings;
Advocating for faculty interests on the governance council; and
Providing an occasional report to LCCEA Exec Council.
For consideration, please submit a brief statement explaining your interest in and ability to serve as an LCCEA faculty representative to one of the open Council positions to lccea@lanecc.edu by Wednesday, January 29.
LCCEA Officers have been elected by you and your fellow faculty. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions.
Dear Members of the LCC Board and President Hamilton, At its meeting on Thursday, November 21, the Democratic Party of Lane County Central Committee passed by unanimous vote the following resolution relating to collective bargaining at LCC: WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the Democratic Party of Lane County, according to the DPLC Platform of 2017, to “[Protect] workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain;” and
WHEREAS, the DPLC has previously resolved in 2019 to support UFCW Local 555, SEIU Local 49, SEIU Local 503 and the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation in their attempts to secure a fair contract; and
WHEREAS, Lane Community College faculty have been in contract negotiations for 11 months and have been working under an expired contract since July 1; and
WHEREAS, part-time LCC faculty, who have the same qualifications as full-time faculty, are receiving wages at only 60 percent of full-time faculty on a per-credit basis; and
WHEREAS, on November 15, Congressman Peter DeFazio expressed his concerns in a letter to the President of Lane Community College that called on “LCC Board of Education to offer a fair contract proposal that adequately compensates both full-time and part-time faculty;” and
WHEREAS, all seven members of the LCC Board of Education are registered Democrats, five of whom sought and received the endorsement of the DPLC during their most recent elections.
THEREFORE, the Democratic Party of Lane County resolves:
SECTION 1: To join Congressman DeFazio in calling on the LCC Board of Education to offer a fair contract proposal that adequately compensates both full-time and part-time faculty.
SECTION 2: To communicate our position on this issue to the LCC Board of Education.
SECTION 3: To stand in solidarity with the workers represented by Lane Community College Education Association and their families if LCC’s inability to offer a fair contract results in a strike.
SECTION 4: To raise awareness of this issue through traditional and social media if opportunities for action present themselves. I have also attached a copy of the resolution as a PDF for your records. Thank you for considering the DPLC’s position in this matter, and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. In my opinion as a local taxpayer, lining up with Congressman DeFazio, our local legislators and your own Party seems like a no-brainer. Let’s get this done. Sincerely,
I’m writing to express deep gratitude to you all, to share news of growing community support for a fair contract for Lane faculty, and to address next steps.
Appreciation Thank you to all of you who have written letters to the Board of Education, who attended Monday’s meeting to demonstrate support for a fair faculty contract, and who have expressed support in other ways, and a special thank you to the contributions of our Action Team Chairs, members, department reps, and faculty organizers.
About 130 faculty and community members stood together to demonstrate over concerns about the trajectory of Lane Community College and the decision-making that has led to continued disinvestment in instruction at the college. (One photo below — follow LCCEA Action Team on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook for more.)
Community Support Supporters include OEA President John Larson, OEA Vice President Reed Scott-Schwalbach, former OEA President Hanna Vaandering, other OEA leaders as well as presidents and leaders from Eugene Education Association, Springfield Education Association, Roseburg and Fern Ridge schools, among others.
In addition, retired faculty members and one retired dean made public statements at the meeting in support of fair compensation for all faculty, movement toward pay equity for part-time faculty, a minimum number of full-time faculty, and the critical need to reverse the trends in college spending and instead invest in the instructional mission.
Both the former student body president, Nick Keough, and the current student body president, Bryant Everett, made strong statements in support of fair compensation for all faculty. (See attached.)
Support from Legislators There has been a groundswell of support among community leaders as well. In addition to US Congressman Peter DeFazio, State Representatives John Lively, Marty Wilde, and Julie Fahey as well as State Senators Lee Beyer and Floyd Prozanski have expressed support for a fair faculty contract.
State Senator Floyd Prozanski wrote an incredibly strong letter to LCC President Hamilton and Board Chair Eyster urging them to come to a “quick, fair resolution” in faculty contract negotiations. (See attached.) He explained that the legislature intended the additional funding provided to community colleges to be invested in the types of salary adjustments LCCEA seeks, such as COLAs and part-time faculty salary schedule changes.
Sen. Prozanski writes, “The Legislature made education funding a key focus during the 2019 session, including increased funding for community colleges. I’m pleased this investment and additional savings brought an additional $2 million to LCC. However, part of our intention with these investments was to ensure that education jobs remained good jobs — jobs where we could recruit and retain an experienced and motivated workforce to educate our students.” “The investments that LCCEA seeks in COLAs and in adjustments to part-time faculty pay represent the kind of investments I had hoped to see. I urge you to come to a quick and fair resolution, so LCC can remain focused on its mission of education.” It is imperative that the College make these investments, lest LCC risk undermining the ability to seek support and funding from the legislature in the future.
State Representative Julie Fahey wrote a compelling letter (also attached) in support of a fair faculty contract expressing concerns that, “Decisions about internal spending have led to a disinvestment in faculty, with faculty FTE down 20% and management FTE up 9% since 2012.” “But the success of LCC and those students can only be as great as the faculty we are able to hire and retain for the long term. While pay and benefits are not the driving reason for most who enter a teaching career, we can still ensure they are being compensated well enough to support their families and to enable them to focus on their teaching.”
The LCCEA is grateful for the support of so many local legislators who have advocated on our behalf for an investment in faculty and in the college mission.
Next steps There are two bargaining sessions remaining this term: Monday 11/25 (noon – 5 p.m.) and Monday 12/2 (1 p.m.-5 p.m.). We remain optimistic that the Board of Education and College Administration have heard the faculty and the community and that the College will come prepared to demonstrate a real commitment to faculty and to do the work at the bargaining table necessary to reach a reasonable agreement. At the same time, given that the contract expired June 30, if the parties do not reach agreement by the end of the term, we will need to proceed to the next step in collective bargaining, which is formal mediation. We know that many faculty members have questions about next steps and options to address the lack of a contract agreement. Please save the date for Wednesday, January 8 at 3 p.m. (week 1 of Winter term) for a meeting open to all LCCEA members where we will answer questions and discuss in detail: bargaining, timelines, and next steps.
In the meantime, faculty are standing together, and our community and our legislators are standing with us.
Oregon Senator Floyd Prozanski wrote LCC President Hamilton and Board Chair Eyster urging them to come to a “quick, fair resolution” in faculty contract negotiations.
Sen. Prozanski writes, “The Legislature made education funding a key focus during the 2019 session, including increased funding for community colleges. I’m pleased this investment and additional savings brought an additional $2 million to LCC. However, part of our intention with these investments was to ensure that education jobs remained good jobs — jobs where we could recruit and retain an experienced and motivated work force to educate our students.”
“The investments that LCCEA seeks in COLAs and in adjustments to part-time faculty pay represent the kind of investments I had hoped to see. I urge you to come to a quick and fair resolution, so LCC can remain focused on its mission of education.”
LCCEA deeply appreciates the support of the Senator Prozanski and the recognition of the intended purpose of state investment in community colleges and the importance of maintaining the educational value of LCC to its students through adequate faculty compensation. #PTFTFacultyUnited #SupportLCCFaculty #Red4Ed
See Sen. Prozanski’s email to President Hamilton and Board Chair Eyster supporting our faculty by clicking on the link below:
Lane Community College Education Association 