Negotiators Back College Faculty Idea : Support Grows for Salary Linked to Living Cost

Glendale Community College negotiators have proposed that the district accept a faculty union’s demand that instructors’ salaries be tied for the first time to a state cost-of-living adjustment.

Representatives of the union, the Glendale Community College Guild, last week applauded the concept of linking the salaries of the faculty it represents to the state adjustment, although the dollar amount is significantly less than their original request.

“There is a sense of cautious optimism about the COLA,” guild President Mona Field said. “We are looking forward to negotiations.”

The guild, which represents 67% of the college’s full-time faculty and 20% of the part-time faculty, has asked for a 15% raise over the next three years, in addition to annual cost-of-living adjustments. Guild members say they need the raise to make up for last year’s 1.5% salary increase, considerably less than the 4.8% cost-of-living adjustment contained in state funds given to the district. Guild representatives have said the shortfall was unfair.

Increase Not Feasible

But district negotiators said the salary increase requested by the union is not feasible.

The district’s initial bargaining position, expected to be approved by the Board of Trustees next week, also proposes excluding lunch time from the 30 hours that instructors are required to be on campus per week and requiring eight hours of office time per week instead of five.

In addition, district negotiators propose that the minimum class size of 15 students be increased to 20 and that student evaluations of teachers be made available to the administration.

Field said the guild had not yet taken positions on those district proposals.