On December 8, after agonizing for weeks about how we might reach an agreement on FT Faculty and AP schedule and modality, we made a difficult decision to offer a significant concession, adding language to our proposal stating that while our members will determine a general schedule in cooperation with their supervisor, supervisors may *occasionally and temporarily* change the schedule or modality of APs, Librarians, and Counselors.
This language, along with other common-sense guidelines around transparent communication (e.g., shared calendars) gives administration what they say they need: the ability to be responsive to department and student needs and ensure operational consistency. But it protects us, too, from managers setting arbitrary schedules and modality requirements that interfere with our ability to do our jobs.
This compromise felt like a potential breakthrough. We were hopeful.
But controlling our working conditions appears to be a hill the PCC administration is willing to die on. Last Friday, they roundly ignored our concession, instead demanding again that FT Faculty and APs hand over complete control of our schedule and modality to a rotating cast of managers and administrators (thanks to PCC’s seemingly permanent state of organizational restructuring).
Here are some questions to consider as we inch closer toward a strike authorization vote:
- Did you know that PCC brazenly broke the law by unilaterally implementing changes to AP and Counselor schedule and modality last summer and fall? We recently filed an Unfair Labor Practice that painstakingly details the disruption and stress caused by these repeated violations, and their unwillingness to bargain in good faith (or bargain at all) over these changes.
- Do you trust the PCC administration to know what is best for your department or your students? (They certainly don’t trust us – remember when they announced their “Workplace Transformation Steering Committee” in March 2022 that included ZERO faculty or APs!)
- Would you feel comfortable with a contract that allowed your manager, your manager’s manager, or the PCC President to set your schedule and modality? To change your schedule and modality—at any time, for any reason?
- How many managers have you had during your time at PCC? How many Presidents have you worked under? Imagine the disruption to your life and department if each of them were given carte blanche to implement new rules around schedule and modality.
During bargaining meetings, the administration likes to cite examples of why our vision is unworkable: What if an instructor teaching an in-person class decides to work from home? What if students are not able to access evening advising appointments because APs have decided not to work those hours? What if a deadline requires longer work days?
As we have said over and over, the schedule is not the work. Obviously faculty and APs who do not show up for or do their work, can be disciplined. What the administration wants is the ability to control our working conditions irrespective of the work. The rigid schedule and modality requirements that admin wants often make it harder to meet the demands of our jobs!
Even worse, administration flat-out refused to engage with us or answer questions about their counterproposal, which is confusing and riddled with contradictions. For example, it says that “APs are not bound to a fixed schedule” but also the “Administrative Supervisor may set a work schedule.” It says that FT Faculty will be required to spend 30 hours on campus, but contains no details on how that will be monitored or enforced.
When we asked for clarification, they became exasperated and angry. Their response to tough questions on Article 6 has become sadly predictable—instead of engaging with us, they declare the conversation unproductive and demand to move on to something else.
The bargaining team very much wants to come to an agreement, and we are genuinely disappointed to have shown up in good faith, with a proposal we thought would appeal to PCC administration, only to be dismissed and disrespected. Despite all this, we are holding out hope that mediation sessions scheduled for January 3 and 4 will help the administration come around. (It’s unclear if mediation will be open to observers—we are meeting with the mediator to go over logistics this week and will share more information when we have it).
Because Article 6 is so long (more than 20 pages!) we have created an Article 6 Cheat Sheet that hits the highlights. We think this makes it clear why Article 6 is our hill, too.