Entrance to Hartnell College in Salenas. (Contributed)
Hartnell College and the Hartnell College Faculty Association have reached a tentative agreement after more than a year of negotiations, the college announced.
The Faculty Association filed for an impasse — requesting the services of a mediator — in negotiations in October, and there has been no contract since June 2022.
The association – which documented the negotiation process on its “Hartnell College” Instagram page – said that the initial contract was agreed upon after “a marathon negotiation session that lasted 16 hours.”
Faculty Association President Nancy Shore Beamer explained that the mediation continued until about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
“Being there until the early hours of the morning shows the commitment of both sides to reaching an agreement,” she said. It was a hard-won deal. The region showed its willingness to compromise.
According to a Hartnell College press release announcing the tentative agreement, the proposed contract provides an overall base salary increase of 10.45% over two years and will restructure the current salary scale.
Throughout the negotiations, Shor-Beamer and the faculty association emphasized that of the 14 central colleges, Hartnell’s salary ranks 13th and is last in the 10 Gulf colleges.
But Shor-Beamer explained that with the salary changes in the tentative agreement, Hartnell’s salary will become competitive across the state.
“We now rank above average in every benchmark category,” she said. “We pushed the district to find the funds to enable us to compete.”
The tentative agreement also includes health care benefits for part-time faculty. California’s Part-Time Faculty Insurance Program provides the same health care benefits to part-time faculty as full-time faculty.
Health care coverage for part-time faculty was one of the association’s demands and something the college and association struggled to agree on.
The faculty association explained in an Instagram post in September that it proposed the community college take advantage of the state-funded program, which would reimburse the college 100% of the cost of providing health care to part-time faculty. But in a separate post summarizing the discussions, the association said the college proposed an alternative to health care coverage that the state would only partially cover.
But the college appears to have come around to the association’s proposal and the news release noted that the district expects to be reimbursed for the total cost of health care premiums for part-time faculty under the state program.
According to Schur-Paymer, while 15 colleges participate in the state program, only three colleges — including Hartnell — participate in the full reimbursement program.
“We feel very honored to have achieved this,” said Shor-Beamer. “We are thrilled to be one of the leaders in having this benefit for part-time faculty. This has come about because our members are stuck together. We will not agree to a contract that does not include our faculty partners,” the full-time faculty said overwhelmingly. Part-time teaching staff.
The association’s media campaign and decision to document the entire negotiation process focused on holding the college accountable and garnering community support, Shor-Beamer said.
“We wanted to make sure we educated the community on why we are fighting so they know this is a just cause,” she explained. “If we didn’t come up with a solution, we wanted the community to realize this was a just cause.”
Hartnell College said the next steps include approval by the college’s Board of Trustees followed by ratification by HCFA members.
“We are pleased to announce that we are one step closer to reaching an agreement that is beneficial to both sides,” college President/Superintendent Michael Gutierrez said in the press release. “We thank everyone who has dedicated countless hours to get us to where we are today.”
Shore-Beamer explained that the College’s Representative Council and Board of Trustees will present and approve the proposed contract on Tuesday before faculty members vote to ratify the agreement.
“It’s a relief and I’m optimistic that this will pass with great success,” Shor-Beamer said.
Hartnell College in Salinas, California has reached a tentative agreement with the faculty association, a significant development that has been eagerly anticipated by the college community. After months of negotiations, both parties have finally come to an agreement that will address the concerns and needs of the faculty members at the college. This agreement marks a significant step forward in promoting a positive and collaborative working environment at Hartnell College, and is expected to have a positive impact on the overall educational experience for students. The details of the agreement are eagerly awaited by the college’s stakeholders, and it is anticipated to bring about positive changes for the academic community at Hartnell College.