Chaparral 2011-2012: Adjunct Junction

Adjunct Junction:
NEWS FOR GCC ADJUNCT FACULTY

by Phyllis Eckler, Guild 2nd Vice President

Adjunct faculty members are feeling rather insecure these days. We know that we are on the front lines when it comes to losing assignments in bad times. That is just the nature of our at-will employment status. However, despite the district’s budget possibly getting hammered by funding cuts (beginning in December as a result of the state budget agreement), the Guild has negotiated that no salary reductions fall on the backs of adjunct faculty. Full-time faculty may have to bear salary take backs this year but part-timers, who have lost 3.75% of their hourly pay annually since 2009, will not be affected by the another salary reduction.

Another positive result of negotiations is a new Catastrophic Illness/Injury Leave Bank for adjunct faculty. This new account allows adjunct faculty who wish to donate illness hours or need time off during a semester to recover from an illness, an account for that purpose. Since adjunct faculty who retire from the CalSTRS Cash Balance Plan cannot use their accrued illness hours towards their retirement benefit, it may be worthwhile for them to donate it to the Catastrophic Leave Bank for the use of other adjunct faculty (and until December 2011 for the use of any faculty—full or part-time). If you are interested in either donating sick leave or applying for paid time off for this reason, please see the payroll department at Glendale College. To check on your accrued sick leave allotment, it can be accessed through GCC Self-Service which is found under Faculty/Staff >Private Internal Link> Oracle (bottom of the page). You may need a password from the HELP Desk to access this area. Email: help@glendale.edu

Rehire rights at Glendale College have also been improved as a result of recently negotiated contract changes. Adjunct faculty who have taught for 10 semesters (including intersessions) and have received at least one “exceeds standards” rating (and no “needs to improve” ratings within that timeframe) will have their names placed on the Rehire Rights list. Please check your past evaluation records. If you believe that you fit within this profile, the office of Human Resources will be able to verify that you are on the list beginning in mid-October. Placement on the list gives an adjunct faculty member first right of refusal for a single course before it is offered to others who have not achieved this distinction.

For any comments or question, Phyllis Eckler can be reached at peckler@glendale.edu or at extension 1122.