Contract
The BOR has shared the professional development allocations for each campus for the current 2018-19 academic year, which follows in the table. Please note that some colleges had previously announced incorrect amounts. The amounts below were agreed to earlier this week.
| Asnuntuck |
$69,249 |
| Capital |
$82,255 |
| Gateway |
$176,812 |
| Housatonic |
$148,340 |
| Manchester |
$181,031 |
| Middlesex |
$78,388 |
| Naugatuck Valley |
$169,431 |
| Northwestern |
$46,752 |
| Norwalk |
$117,055 |
| Quinebaug Valley |
$52,376 |
| Three Rivers |
$84,012 |
| Tunxis |
$125,140 |
There were two Memorandum of Agreements signed by the BOR and 4Cs in relation to Professional Development:
- MOA regarding the allocations. The MOA lists the allocations for the colleges and the figures of how the per capita amounts were determined. Further, if there are unobligated funds for professional development at one or more colleges, the aggregate balance will be redistributed to colleges with unmet professional development needs. Only after redistribution will residual funds be returned to the BOR.
- MOA regarding the maximum allotments. The MOA covers 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21; the 2018-19 limits are shared below. The amounts are per semester and please note that conferences and coursework cannot both be used in one semester.
Professional Development SEMESTER Maximums
2018-2019 Full-time Part-time
Coursework……$3400……….$1200
Conferences…..$2250………..$900
Memberships….$550…………$225
ebenson November 1st, 2018
Posted In: Contract, Professional Development
Tags: front recent
A number of members have questions regarding the use of professional development funds. The 4Cs, AFT and AFSCME negotiated with the BOR a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the maximum allotments for both full-time and part-time members. The MOA covers 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. The amounts are per semester and please note that conferences and course work cannot both be used in one semester.
The union has received a number of questions regarding the provision that members cannot use funds for both course work and conferences in the same semester. If one member took the maximum amount for course work and a conference in the same semester, it would be $5,650. While contract negotiations lead to the available funds increasing more than 150%, they are not unlimited. We had no way of knowing what the usage of the funds would be and we wanted the funds available to all members. In many of our Colleges, $5,650 would amount to 10% of the allocation for the year.
We can propose changes when we have greater experience with the usage of the funds.
Another issue that has been raised is that some colleges have announced their available funds as a certain amount of full-time members and a certain amount for part-time members. The fact is that the funds should be viewed as one pool of money for ALL members, part-time or full-time.
ebenson October 19th, 2018
Posted In: Contract, Professional Development
As you heard last week, NEASC did not approve the CSCU plan to consolidate the community colleges. While many of you breathed a sigh of relief, others may be more fearful after President Ojakian threatened to close campuses if funding cannot be secured for the system. Regardless of how you felt about Students First, it is clear that the system needs money to continue to operate while determining next steps. As faculty and staff, we certainly hope to influence the next steps. But there is one thing we all need to do right now:
CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS and ask both your state representative and state senator to support increased funding for the community colleges. Calling is best, but email is better than nothing.
There is one week left of the legislative session. You can find your legislators
here. You can use
this data to show your legislators how many Community College faculty, staff, and students live in the cities and towns they represent and why their investment is so critical. They cannot allow the BOR to double tuition for our students and state employees have done their part to save the state money by the SEBAC 2017 Agreement. (As you will see below, we also ask that you call legislators about not attaching any bad amendments regarding your collective bargaining rights to legislation).
Please take the time to do this one ask of calling your legislators. The more people they hear from, the more attention it will gain from legislators.
Your Rights Under the Contract
While we cannot predict what the state budget will bring next week, we want to assure you of the job security rights under the 4Cs Contract.
- Job Security: There shall be no loss of employment for permanent employees hired prior to July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2021.
- Protection from job loss does not apply to:
- Expiration of a temporary or special appointment (in 1st year),
- Nonrenewal of a non-tenured employee for performance-related reasons,
- Termination of grant or other outside funding specified for a particular position; and,
- Less than 20-hour per week part-time employees.
- Employees in the 2nd or subsequent special appointment year on the effective date of this Agreement shall be covered by this provision.
-
It does not prevent the BOR from restructuring and eliminating positions provided that the affected employees shall be reassigned or transferred to an existing comparable job in the
system for which the employee possesses the requisite qualifications and experience. Salary and tenure status shall be preserved. An employee who refuses an offered position shall not be considered a layoff.
What’s Next?
The General Assembly adjourns on Wednesday, May 9, so we will have an answer to whether the state is making this crucial investment in our state’s neediest students. More information to follow next week.
Please feel free to contact us if you are hearing anything about the consolidation. For example, a member heard this week that Goodwin College was buying Tunxis. The BOR cannot sell a campus; it is state-owned, not BOR-owned. The Department of Administrative Services is in charge of all state property. But the 4Cs was able to reach out to the BOR and get written confirmation that this was not true. Again, please feel free to contact the 4Cs office at 860.296.5172 with any questions or concerns during these uncertain times.
ebenson May 3rd, 2018
Posted In: BOR, Consolidation, Contract, Political Action
Tags: front recent
The 4Cs recently came to an agreement with the System Office on Professional Development allocation guidelines for the rest of this academic year (2017-18) as follows:
Principal Bargaining Unit Members:
- Tuition reimbursement of up to $3000 a semester orconference expenses up to $2000 a semester.
- Professional society memberships up to $500 a semester.
Part-time Bargaining Unit Members:
- Tuition reimbursement up to $1000 a semester or conference expenses up to $750 a semester.
- Professional society memberships up to $200 a semester.
Additional information will be provided to the colleges soon regarding the management of unobligated balances that result after all Professional Development requests have been addressed.
ebenson March 21st, 2018
Posted In: Contract, Professional Development
Tags: front recent
Principal bargaining unit members will see a $900 professional development grant in their 3/29 paycheck. Please note that it will be income subject to taxes.
You may remember that this “grant” is available because the money came from “pots” of money that the 4Cs had set aside for several uses, such as tuition reimbursement, sabbatical leave, Willis upgrades, and a few others. The BOR is taking on the responsibility for most of those incentives as part of our current contract.
Once we paid out all obligations from those pots, there was money left, which is being dispersed to our members as a professional development grant.
You may have heard that our colleagues in AFT and AFSCME are receiving different amounts. Why? The 4Cs has spent more out of our funds over the years, primarily on additional money for sabbaticals and disability coverage for members in the Alternate Retirement Plan (ARP), as well as the three furlough days that the union was able to cover so your paychecks would not be reduced. The 4Cs has significantly more members than the other unions, so our obligations were more costly.
ebenson March 1st, 2018
Posted In: Contract, Contract Negotiations, Principal Bargaining Unit
Tags: front recent
We want to take a moment to remind members of changes that were approved the members in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The deadline for Promotion, Tenure and Sabbatic Leave applications is now the first day of the spring semester: January 16, 2018. It was also agreed that the President of the college can approve extensions, and the 4Cs asserts that such requests for extensions not be unreasonably denied.
There were other notable changes for promotion to be aware of, including a change in the composition of the Promotion Committee. The
composition of the Promotion Committee will now be four 4Cs members and two managers. Further, it has recently been agreed to by the BOR that members who are not on a permanent appointment but who have job protection through SEBAC 2017 may apply for promotion (read agreement
here).
The 4Cs provides several resources for those who are applying for promotion and tenure on our website:
ebenson January 10th, 2018
Posted In: Contract, Principal Bargaining Unit
Tags: front recent
The union has received many emails from members asking about job security if “Students First” is approved on December 14.
Consistent with 2011 SEBAC Agreement, there shall be NO loss of employment for permanent employees (hired prior to July 1, 2017) through June 30, 2021.
Protection from job loss does not apply to:
- Expiration of a temporary or special appointment (in 1st year),
- Nonrenewal of a nontenured employee for performance-related reasons,
- Termination of grant or other outside funding specified for a particular position; and
- Less than 20-hour per week part-time employees.
Employees in the 2nd or subsequent special appointment year on the effective date of this Agreement shall be covered by this job security provision.
Job security does not prevent the BOR from restructuring and eliminating positions but the BOR must reassign or transfer the affected employees to an existing comparable job in the system. If there is not a comparable position, the BOR can reassign or transfer employees to any position for which the employee possesses the requisite qualifications and experience. Salary and tenure status shall be preserved. An employee who refuses an offered position shall not be considered a layoff.
In simple terms, if you meet the qualifications to be covered by job security and your position is eliminated, you must be offered another job until June 30, 2021 at the same salary. It may be at a different location or it may be a different position that you currently hold, but unless you refuse an offer, the BOR must continue to employ you until June 30, 2021.
ebenson December 12th, 2017
Posted In: Consolidation, Contract
Tags: front recent
Promotion Committee Composition
A few weeks ago, we announced that an anomaly had been noticed in the contract implementation on the issue of the composition of the Promotion Committee. In notes from negotiations, it was agreed to around the table that the Promotion Committee makeup would include two managers; as there would be administrators on the Promotion Committee, it would eliminate the Dean level of review. However, the issue of the Promotion Committee composition was never incorporated into the three Tentative Agreements that were signed (
here).
President Bonina asked our Attorney to review this matter. Attorney Chester’s letter can be read
here.
Professional Development Grants
In the past, the 4Cs contract contained different “pots” of money for specific purposes. During contract negotiations, it was agreed that:
- Grievance/equity accounts remain the same.
- 1% of payroll to fund promotions and merit awards.
- 1.35% of payroll for professional development.
- Other accounts become obligations of the BOR.
- 26 sabbatical leaves (an increase of about 10 per year)
- Remaining funds dispersed to members as “professional development grants”.
Members have inquired as to when the professional development grants would be released. We do not have an exact date yet for the professional development grants, but we expect that they will be awarded early in 2018. We will keep you updated.
ebenson December 12th, 2017
Posted In: Contract, Principal Bargaining Unit, Professional Development
Tags: front recent
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for members to notify the Administration of their intent to apply for Promotion by the last day of the semester (12/23/17 for Fall 2017). This was agreed to so that management has time over intersession to perform related photocopying and paperwork. Please note that this is for promotion only.
Members who will be applying for promotion, tenure, and/or sabbatic leave also have a new application deadline: the first day of the spring semester (1/16/18).
The 4Cs website contains many useful tools for those who will be applying for promotion and/or tenure, including copies of application forms, webinars, and sample applications for promotion. Please visit here for more information.
ebenson December 6th, 2017
Posted In: Contract, Principal Bargaining Unit
Tags: front recent
Additional information is available now for two on the recent contract changes: Professional Development funds and the Emergency Sick Leave Bank.
Professional Development Funds for 2017-18
Below please find a table that shows the amount allocated for each college for 4Cs members’ professional development.
| College |
4Cs
2016-17 |
4Cs
2017-18 |
4Cs
Part-Time
17-18 |
| Asnuntuck |
$28,650 |
$66,801 |
$1,583 |
| Capital |
$29,308 |
$85,552 |
$1,825 |
| Gateway |
$38,858 |
$123,054 |
$6,026 |
| Housatonic |
$55,653 |
$175,791 |
$2,996 |
| Manchester |
$64,545 |
$212,121 |
$2,066 |
| Middlesex |
$29,638 |
$99,615 |
$758 |
| Naugatuck |
$41,822 |
$123,054 |
$5,303 |
| Northwestern |
$21,734 |
$76,176 |
$310 |
| Norwalk |
$47,091 |
$121,882 |
$1,240 |
| Quinebaug |
$27,004 |
$69,145 |
$413 |
| Three Rivers |
$27,332 |
$76,176 |
$1,550 |
| Tunxis |
$41,163 |
$123,054 |
$930 |
| Total |
$452,798
|
$1,352,421 |
$25,000 |
Emergency Sick Leave Bank Guidelines
A sick leave bank is a brand new benefit that was negotiated into the 4Cs contract. For that reason, it took several months to determine how it would be implemented. Please see the attached guidelines
here.
Everyone should note that:
- On March 31st of each year of the agreement, all full-time members who have not contributed to the Emergency Sick Leave Bank (ESLB) shall have three of their accrued sick days assigned to the ESLB.
- Bargaining unit members with a sick leave balance of 105 hours or more on March 31st will have these three days deducted immediately.
- Bargaining unit members with less than 105 sick leave hours on March 31st, will have 1 day deducted quarterly.
- New hires will have one day deducted in each of the 9th, 10th, and 11th-month accruals.
The donation of three days only occurs one time, but upon retirement, all members’ sick days in excess of 240 shall be assigned to the ESLB.
ebenson November 29th, 2017
Posted In: Contract, Professional Development, Sick Leave Bank
Tags: front recent
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