OC Reg
Demanding health care for their family members and higher pay, faculty members of the North Orange County Community College District on Tuesday, Feb. 11, delivered a letter expressing no confidence in the district’s leadership.
“I sincerely hope this statement shows the board how serious and dedicated we are to getting the salary and benefits we deserve,” Naji Dahi, a Fullerton College political science professor and chairman of the faculty union’s organizing committee, said at the district’s board of trustees meeting. The letter, symbolic in nature, was signed by more than 350 faculty members.
District officials said their proposal in the stalled contract negotiations would provide a 9% increase in salary and benefits for the faculty over the course of two years, including health care for family members. But faculty union members said the proposal is inadequate in light of the district’s $102 million reserves and the mounting cost of living in Orange County.
The district and its nearly 500 full-time faculty with Cypress College, Fullerton College and the North Orange Continuing Education school – which together teach about 80,000 students annually – have been negotiating for nearly two years for a new contract. Faculty members have worked without a contract since June….(continue reading)
