In December 2016 the university proposed a cap on summer school salaries, and the SCFA began bargaining on the issue. We first succeeded in getting the university to agree not to implement proposed changes in Summer 2017. Bargaining on the proposal continued, and concluded in August. We’re happy to report that the university has withdrawn its proposal for a summer salary cap. One of the SCFA’s core positions is that faculty salary cuts should not be used to address real or perceived budget issues; this was and will remain at the core of our bargaining position. The university also proposed a formula for pro-rating compensation for summer courses of fewer than five units. Based on our evaluation of the proposal and member feedback, we agreed that this was fair, and accepted it with the proviso, to which the university agreed, that upward adjustments of the proration formula could be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
The proposed salary cap would have affected a substantial number of faculty teaching in summer session, and we are very pleased that the proposal has been withdrawn. The university administration communicated to us, however, that it might propose summer salary caps again at some time in the future. If that happens, the SCFA will bargain once more, and we hope, in that eventuality, to get the same degree of faculty support that we received during this round.
The SCFA position, delineated in a letter sent to university counsel during the bargaining process can be found here: SCFA Response – Summer Session Salaries 8-3-17. The university counsel’s document that concluded the bargaining can be accessed HERE.