College Faculty Union Switch Voids Proposed 3-Year Contract

Faculty members at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster have voted to dump their current union in favor of a more militant group, voiding an already negotiated three-year contract proposal that would have included substantial pay raises.

With the campus now on summer session, college officials said a new contract deal and related pay raises for the campus’ 360 instructors probably could not be drawn up before fall.

In results from the hotly contested election, which were tallied Tuesday, college teachers voted 141 to 123 to select the American Federation of Teachers as their new collective bargaining agent. The AFT will replace the California Teachers Assn.

Under the contract negotiated by the CTA, the college’s 103 full-time instructors would have gotten a 10% pay raise July 1, and at least 5% in both the second and third years of the contract. The college’s 257 part-time instructors would have gotten a $2.50-an-hour raise to start, and an additional 5% in the second and third years.

Federation officials would not say whether they were unhappy with the wage provisions of the contract proposal. But they did say the faculty’s decision to forgo the immediate pay raises showed the extent of its dissatisfaction with the CTA’s performance.

The AFT, which already represents office workers at the college, is expected to present a tougher set of faculty contract demands, including one for a grievance policy, something the college has resisted.

College President Allan Kurki declined to comment on the effect of the union switch, except to say, “I am disappointed we’ve got to start negotiations over again now. It had taken months for us to get to this particular point.”