(Photo courtesy of COCC)
The Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Board of Directors approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Faculty Forum on Wednesday, October 14, finalizing a contract that includes significant compensation increases for full-time and adjunct faculty, among other items.
The agreement includes an average salary increase of approximately 19 percent for full-time faculty in the first year, followed by three percent cost-of-living adjustments in years two and three, in addition to applicable step increases. Adjunct faculty will receive an average salary increase of nearly 48 percent in the first year.
The agreement also restructures the full-time faculty salary schedule from 23 steps to 15 and includes additional updates to faculty compensation and contract provisions.
The new contract follows months of negotiations and mediation between the College and the Faculty Forum. The parties reached a tentative agreement on October 2. The faculty forum ratified the contract on Sunday, October 4.
“We’re pleased to have this agreement finalized and to move forward together as a College,” said COCC President Greg Pereira. “Our faculty play an essential role in the education and experience we provide our students, and this contract represents a meaningful investment in their work. We appreciate the efforts of both bargaining teams throughout this process and look forward to continuing our shared commitment to student success.”
“I know I speak for all faculty when I say we are so happy that we were able to get back to the work of serving our students and our community, and certainly the College,” said Sara Henson, COCC professor of human development and president of the COCC Faculty Forum. “I really hope that this shared experience makes us all stronger and that we can be partners in addressing the future challenges that we have. We really look forward to partnering with the College to continue that work.”
Additional information about the bargaining process is available on the College’s Faculty Negotiations webpage. The complete agreement will be available on COCC’s Contracts and Manuals webpage.
