2013-15 Collective Bargaining Agreement

Summary of Substantive Changes

Article 2, Definitions Article 4, Association Security Article 5, Management Rights Article 6, Faculty Governance Article 7, Strikes Article 8, Departmental Chairpersons plus

Replaced old titles with new ones (Program Chair, Director, AVP Curricular Management throughout CBA)

Article 9, Professional Development Article 10, Appointments and Evaluations Article 12, Salary and Fringe Benefits plus

MOUs on Furloughs MOU on Professor of Practice Compensation

Where were the Changes?

Article 13, Summer Session/Fourth Term Article 14, Retirement Article 16 (now 15), Non-discrimination New Article 16, Just Cause, Progressive Discipline and Due

Process (resulted in reordering and renumbering some articles)

Article 17, Grievances Article 18, Faculty-Administration Relationships Article 19, Working Conditions plus

LOA on Differential Loading Article 21 (now 22), Totality of Agreement Article 24 (now 25), Copies of Agreement

And more . . .

Compensation

Challenges Abounded

Retained PDA funds at current rates ($750/$1250) Retained 2013-14 PDG funds for grants already awarded. Traded 2014-15 PDG funds to provide a $1000 bonus for

Assistant Professors (September 2014 paycheck) Retained 5% Health Premium Sharing Retained 6% Retirement Contribution Retained 2013 September Floor Increase Retained 2014 September Floor Increase, but had to take 3

furlough days in exchange Should Senate adopt new rank, MOU sets compensation for

Professor of Practice at Professor rates (with $2000 deduction for lack of terminal degree)

Compensation Results

(Articles 9 & 12)

Furloughs will occur on instructional days Dates must be negotiated with Administration

by April 15, 2014

Furloughs Timing

Eliminated 600-hour program Added a true emeritus faculty rate when bringing back

retired faculty (year 1 professor or senior instructor 2) Kept early retirement option with up to 7 years of

health insurance May waive health insurance in return for a cash

settlement equal to 25% of the SOU paid premiums Retained one-time 6% increase when relinquishing

tenure or 3-year extendable contract All may relinquish up to 3 years prior to retirement

date (must be at least 55 years old)

Early Retirement (Article 14)

Summary of Other Changes

Added lots of definitions including:

Accompanist OPE Tangible Employment Action Timely

Clarified others University Days Years-in-Rank

Definitions (Article 2)

Added paragraph 2, which allows APSOU to

pay for course release at adjunct rates for President to meet his/her obligations while in office.

Association Security (Article 4)

Added “and responsibilities” to title of article. Simplified first sentence of paragraph 2 to

more clearly articulate intent. Added last sentence of paragraph 2 to indicate

management’s responsibility in assuring procedures are followed in such a way that any delays do not adversely affect faculty compensation or advancement opportunities.

Management Rights and Responsibilities (Article 5)

Adds sentence 2 to clarify that CBA takes

precedence when there is any inconsistency or other question between CBA and Faculty Bylaws.

Faculty Governance (Article 6)

Revised first sentence of article to strengthen

prohibition.

Strikes (Article 7)

Rewritten with temporary language while

transitioning to new academic organization. Emphasized program chairs duties center

around curriculum, mentoring faculty, and working with students

Release conditions: adequate release time for program chairs to carry

out their assigned duties and equitably allocates release to program chairs

across divisions proportional to the duties assigned.

Program Chairs (Article 8)

Added item to section C to explicitly state that

a lack of notice of non-renewal was essentially notice of renewal.

Rewrote section D to move into the electronic age with appointment information available via SISWeb

Expanded section F to include handing of all personnel records, not just student evaluations

Appointment and Evaluation (Article 10)

Fully transitioned to “fourth term” terminology Clarified distinction between regular and special offerings,

renaming them primary and secondary offerings. Emphasized guarantee pertains to a faculty member’s guarantee of employment, not guaranteeing courses won’t be cancelled.

Required at least 80% of offerings be guaranteed. Relaxed the deadlines for guaranteeing faculty employment from

January 31 to February 15. Inserted a deadline for faculty deciding not to teach secondary

offerings of May 31. Replaced specific dollar amounts for adjunct rates with

“professional/professorial adjunct rate” Linked minimum fixed service rate to Assistant Professor year 1

floor.

Summer Session/Fourth Term (Article 13)

Updated language to be consistent with

current law. Added gender identity to be consistent with

SOU policies.

Non-Discrimination (Article 16 15)

Section 1 covers OAR description of “Just

Cause” Section 2 outlines exceptions to progressive

discipline section Section 3 details progressive discipline and

sanctions process and potential results

Just Cause, Progressive Discipline and Due Process

(New Article 16)

Deleted prohibition on seeking resolution in

multiple venues Clarified that no one named in a grievance

should hear the grievance (that is, they cannot take an active role in meeting with the grievant to review or render a decision regarding the grievance)

Grievances (Article 17)

Added, “unless otherwise mutually agreed

upon,” to item 1. Clarified that accompanist is not representing

APSOU Board and solely present to support faculty member.

Added clause to 2d to clarify that there may be legal settings where confidentiality cannot be maintained.

Faculty-Administration (Article 18)

In Section A, item 3, estimated 1 ELU at 5.5% of a faculty member’s workload and

included introductory language that will be fleshed out by task force by June 15, 2015 (see LOA).

In Section A, items 3 and 4, replaced the 22 hour time estimate for other work with a range of 20-30 hours if resulting from a course cancellation and 25-30 hours otherwise.

In section A, item 3, the 1/6 ELU was replaced by the range of 1/5 to 1/10 in item f to reflect that different individualized instruction activities place different levels of demand on a faculty member’s time.

In section A, item 3, the 1/6 ELU was replaced by 1/10 in item g to better correlate with the fact that low enrolled courses include those enrolling under 10 students (not just 6).

In section A, item 5, added proviso so that when a department cannot accommodate a bank withdrawal in a timely manner through course release, a faculty member may withdraw up to 6 ELU in cash at the adjunct rate.

In Section B, Adds two sentences to the general statement regarding working environment (item 1) to alert faculty to workplace-flexibility information.

In Section D, item 1, updated appointment ranks to comply with recent OAR changes in faculty ranks.

Working Conditions (Article 19)

Converts second paragraph to plain language.

Paragraph removes any obligation to bargain during the duration of the Agreement.

Totality of Agreement (Article 21 22)

Adds final paragraph to clarify that current

CBA remains in effect if bargaining extends beyond August 31 expiration date.

Negotiation of Successor Agreement (Article 23 24)

Moved to an electronic distribution of the CBA,

reducing the need for multiple paper copies of the CBA

Copies (Article 24 25)

At closing, references to chairs, deans, etc.,

were updated to reflect the incoming academic reorganization

Assures CBA provides clear direction regarding who is carrying out various roles identified in each article

Reorganization

Established a taskforce for 2014-15 that will

investigate differentiated loading Charge: examine the question of how to quantify

percentages of effort expected in non-instructional areas (either minimums or ranges).

The final recommendation shall propose a straight-forward system that documents faculty choices via FPAPs/FPARs and (1) allows faculty flexibility and choice from year to year, (2) supports faculty progress toward promotion and tenure, and (3) considers possible differentiation by rank/position.

Letter of Agreement

Discussed at length Discussions lead to an institutional policy on

the HR website for all employees rather than one specific to faculty

www.sou.edu/hrs/workplace-flexibility.html

Workplace Flexibility

Board recommendation isone furlough day each term

neighboring an existing holiday:  (1) Wednesday, November 24, before Thanksgiving, (2) Tuesday, January 20, 2015, after Martin Luther King Day, and (3) Friday, May 22, before Memorial Day Weekend.

Runner-up was Thanksgiving week, but that concentrates them in the fall and reduces instructional days to the 45 day minimum.

Discarded was unobserved holidays because that choice would preclude offering Monday-only classes winter and spring and would place and undue burden on MW and MWF classes due to all holidays being Mondays!

Furlough Considerations

Ratification Vote

“Yes” vote is recommended by Bargaining Team and APSOU Board

Electronic balloting will open following this meeting and close Monday at 5 PM.