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Faculty contract at a standstill

Making peace with the other side has yet to be seen at the negotiating table between MCCC faculty and the college.
“There wasn’t much progress,” Dr. Patrick Nedry said about the last negotiating session.
Nedry, chief negotiator for the faculty, said the college is asking faculty to give up certain benefits in their contract that affect wages and other compensation.
“That’s the crux of what we’re talking about,” he said.
Described as a “paramount decision,” Nedry also said the college is asking some of the faculty to take a cut in their benefits to fund others.
“The longer it goes, the more money they save,” he said. The college and faculty negotiators last met Oct. 4 to discuss the contract, which expired in August.
“We exchanged proposals a couple times,” he said about the negotiating process. Other college employee groups were not required to take a benefits cut to fund increases in salaries, according to Nedry.
“None of the other groups had to do that,” he said.
The faculty is certainly not happy, says Nedry. However, he remains optimistic about the situation and thinks their requests are reasonable.
“People want to be professional despite their concerns,” he said.
Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC, said he wants both sides to have a “mutually beneficial resolution.”
“Personally, what I would like to see is a win-win situation.
“I want everyone to win, because I don’t want to work with losers. I believe in working with winners,” he said about coming to an agreement. He also addressed both sides of the negotiating table. Quartey said he knows what’s it’s like to work as a faculty member and an administrator.
“I know what it means to be in their shoes,” he said about being a faculty member.
“I value the faculty and the board values the faculty.” Quartey encourages both sides to accelerate the decision-making process. The negotiation talks have been ongoing since February.
“I want to see it happen as soon as possible,” he said. Quartey said faculty and administration need to be reminded why they are here.
“It’s all about the students,” he said.
Faculty members are expressing their disgruntlement by wearing t-shirts that say: “50 years of teaching excellence deserves a fair contract.”