MPC administrators and faculty reach tentative contract agreement.

After several years of working without a contract, Monterey Peninsula College faculty appear to be closer to at least some increase in pay. Their union reached a tentative agreement with the administration at the conclusion of three hours of negotiations on Monday, Nov. 5.

Full-time faculty could see a 1-percent increase in pay retroactive to July 1, 2017, and part-time faculty could receive a 4-percent increase, also retroactive, says Monterey Peninsula College Teachers Association President Lauren Blanchard.

Part-time faculty may also see a bump in pay from being paid for all hours of a 51-hour course—currently they are paid for only 49 hours.

One of the more significant changes for full-time instructors could come in how fast they are able to climb the salary ladder.

Currently it can take 27 years to climb to the top step. The proposal is to compress the the schedule by removing any frozen steps. It would then take 17 years to climb steps 1 through 17. Some instructors could see an immediate jump in steps and pay, since the agreement is retroactive to 2017.

The two sides tentatively agreed to about a dozen points, based on a counter-proposal the administration presented to the MPCTA on Oct. 17, after failing to reach any agreement during sessions overseen by a state mediator earlier this year.

Now that a “paper agreement” exists, Blanchard says the union will take the contract proposal to its members for a vote. The voting period runs from Tuesday, Nov. 13, through Monday, Nov. 19; ballots will be counted Nov. 20.

“I think it has a chance to pass,” says Blanchard.

If union members approve the contract, it could go to a vote of the current MPC Board of Trustees as early as Nov. 28, if it gets placed on the agenda in time. If approved by a majority of the board, the contract would be in effect until June 30, 2019.

A new board is scheduled to convene Dec. 12, when certainly one and possibly two new board members are sworn in after results of the Nov. 6 election are confirmed.

Area 1 in Seaside and Sand City will definitely see a new trustee—either candidate Natalia Molina or Felix Bachofner—since incumbent Charles Brown is not running for re-election.

In Area 2 covering Marina and Seaside, incumbent Margaret-Anne Coppernoll is being challenged by Yuri Anderson, who ran a well-organized campaign with dozens of volunteers knocking on an estimated 4,500 doors.

The MPCTA is backing Molina and Anderson. Numerous current and former faculty and students walked precincts and made phone calls and union members were encouraged by leaders to donate money to the two campaigns.

Blanchard noted in a blog post to the MPCTA website on Oct. 18 that she believes the administration offered the counter-proposal in part because of recent activism by the union in board elections, as well as because of earlier demonstrations that received community support.

A statement by the administration released late in the evening on Nov. 5 said the tentative agreement “represents a concrete step towards MPC’s future,” adding administrators are “delighted” to have made progress in negotiations.

“It has always been the goal of the district to improve compensation for its faculty, who are critical to MPC’s mission to foster student learning and achievement within its diverse community,” the statement reads.

Even if a new contract is approved by both sides by the end of this month it won't be long before they are back at the negotiating table—the tentative agreement states they would enter into negotiations no later than Feb. 15, 2019, to replace the contract that expires June 30.