Hagerstown Community College
Contract BARGAINING
UNION VICTORY ON RAISES!
Today the Hagerstown Community College full-time faculty signed a written Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) securing a 6% raise for faculty upon return to contract for the 2024-2025 academic year!
This is a testament to what union members achieve when we organize! Join our next union meeting or action to contribute directly to winning improvements. over our other bargaining priorities.
TAKE ACTION
SIGN THE PETITION FOR FACULTY PARTICIPATION IN SEARCH COMMITTEES AT HAGERSTOWN
College administrations across the country are eroding shared governance. Today, at HCC, that looks like a new unfolding precedent to exclude faculty from search committees for administrative positions within their division. Help us protect faculty voice by adding your name to our petition.
Proposal tracker
HOW IT WORKS
Our Bargaining Team proposes policy language on a topic related to our working conditions at Hagerstown Community College.
If the administration agrees with the proposal we have a “tentative agreement” or a “T.A.” These agreements are “tentative” because the whole contract must be ratified by a vote of the membership before it can go into effect.
If the administration does not agree with our union’s proposal, their team will give us their own proposal, called a “counter proposal.” This process continues back and forth until an agreement is reached.
Bargaining Updates
JOIN THE UNION!
We’re uniting to win a fair union contract that promotes good jobs and quality education. Join us!
Our Bargaining Platform includes:
- Job security
- Affordable healthcare
- Economic fairness
- Quality education
- Academic freedom
- Shared governance
- Fairness, respect, and dignity
- A voice for every UAMD member
Calendar
Check our calendar for upcoming bargaining sessions, events, actions, and other opportunities to participate in our union!
OUR MISSION
We, the faculty of Hagerstown Community College, resolve to form a union to promote collegiality, effective shared governance, and a fair apportionment of professional duties, as well as equitable compensation, benefits and opportunities for professional growth.
Through collective bargaining we aim to
- Secure a safe and supportive working, teaching and learning environment,
- Uphold the principles of academic freedom and intellectual property,
- Support open access to higher education while ensuring proper student preparation and placement,
- Foster effective communication among all academic and administrative units,
- Ensure genuine shared governance and administrative due process,
- Set manageable expectations for adopting significant changes in modes of educational delivery
- And press for competitive compensation, benefits and support for professional development, both academic and non-academic.
We therefore have committed to collective bargaining in furtherance of academic excellence and to better fulfill the mission of Hagerstown Community College by making a healthy, productive and respectful workplace the firm foundation of its future success.
BARGAINING 101
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is the process that brings unionized employees and their employer together to negotiate a mutually agreed upon and legally binding contract, also called a collective bargaining agreement, or CBA.
What will we bargain for?
- A volunteer committee of union members will conduct a survey of the broader union membership to determine which issues HCC members are most concerned about, and which improvements they are most eager to win.
- The member committee will then use the priorities identified in that survey, and examples of the best contracts from other academic worker unions, to draft a contract proposal. The contract proposal will cover topics such as compensation, leave policies, healthcare benefits, promotion and discipline processes, grievance procedures, and more.
Who will participate in collective bargaining?
A bargaining committee consisting of union members will sit down at the bargaining table with representatives of our employer (lawyers, budget and HR officers, etc.). The broader union membership will also have opportunities to participate in various ways throughout the process.
How does bargaining work?
- The union’s bargaining team and the employer will set bargaining session dates.
- At the bargaining sessions, the bargaining team and the employer will go through the union’s proposed contract point by point, trying to reach an agreement.
- If the employer and bargaining committee are in agreement on a point, they will move on to the next one. If they are not in agreement on part of the proposal, the employer will draft a counter proposal. The bargaining committee can accept the new proposal, make their own counter proposal (amending the original but not quite accepting the employer’s offer), or reject the employer’s proposal and make their case for standing by the original.
- If the employer and bargaining committee are at an impasse on one proposal, they will typically move on and return to the sticking point later. The bargaining committee may then choose to make concessions on issues that are less important to the membership in exchange for agreement on proposals that are more important.
- In between bargaining sessions, the bargaining committee will provide updates on the progress of negotiations and seek input from the broader membership. If the employer appears to be stalling, or unfairly rejecting proposals that are important to the membership, the committee may call for actions like button up days, rallies, or a petition to encourage the employer to negotiate fairly.
How long does contract bargaining take?
The negotiation process takes place over many bargaining sessions. A strong union with an engaged membership can typically finish negotiations within a few months.
What happens when an agreement is reached?
- When the bargaining team and the employer have reached an agreement on all points in the proposed contract, the new version of the contract, called a “tentative agreement” (TA) is sent to all union members for a ratification vote.
- If the majority of members vote to ratify, the new contract will go into effect. If the members reject the tentative agreement, the bargaining team and employer will return to the table and try to come up with a new TA that will have the approval of the membership.
- The contract cannot go into effect until the membership has voted to ratify it.
What is the difference between a union contract and an employment agreement or employee handbook?
- A union contract is a mutually agreed upon and legally binding contract. That means union members and their employer have a say in the content of the contract, and have formal, legal mechanisms for enforcing the contract.
- Hire letters may also be legally binding, but they are not as comprehensive as a union contract, they are written by the employer with less input from employees, and enforcement can be very difficult and personally costly for employees.
- Employee handbooks are written with limited or no input from workers, and are not legally binding. An employer can rewrite or simply disregard the policies in an employee handbook any time they choose.
What is the difference between a union contract and an employment agreement or employee handbook?
- A union contract is a mutually agreed upon and legally binding contract. That means union members and their employer have a say in the content of the contract, and have formal, legal mechanisms for enforcing the contract.
- Hire letters may also be legally binding, but they are not as comprehensive as a union contract, they are written by the employer with less input from employees, and enforcement can be very difficult and personally costly for employees.
- Employee handbooks are written with limited or no input from workers, and are not legally binding. An employer can rewrite or simply disregard the policies in an employee handbook any time they choose.
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