COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

A significant amount of TMCC-NFA's attention in this round of negotiations is focused on creating equity in the contract language for librarians, counselors, and administrative faculty on issues such as workload. Other proposals have included recognition of the MFA degree as a terminal degree for placement on the salary schedule, faculty protections pertaining to office reassignments and clarifying the composition of faculty search committees.

Multiple proposals that would affect faculty compensation, such as annual step adjustments on the salary schedule, COLA adjustments for new hires, and an increased pay rate for summer school have encountered stiff resistances from the administration. Additionally, academic deans are seeking to play a greater role in faculty search committees. They have also proposed a much earlier deadline for faculty self-evaluations and mandatory attendance at division and department meetings. In most instances, TMCC-NFA has offered counter proposals to clarify faculty rights and responsibilities and protect their privileges and interests.

At the beginning of spring semester, TMCC-NFA will host a forum for members of the bargaining unit, which includes all full-time non-supervisory instructional faculty, administrative faculty, counselors, and librarians. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact any member of the Collective Bargaining Council if you have questions or would like to provide suggestions for the on-going negotiations.

Faculty activism at the September Board of Regents meeting managed to postpone restrictive changes to the rules that govern collective bargaining in the Nevada System of Higher Education. After the meeting, an NFA officer participated in a meeting at the invitation of the Council of Faculty Senate Chairs to revise the language for the proposed changes. The meeting resulted in some modifications that clarified the proposal, but did not succeed in securing all the changes NFA had hoped for. The proposal, which will be voted on at the October 17th special meeting of the Regents, now has language to ensure presidents will submit collectively-bargained budget items to NSHE, which will fold them into the fiscal requests sent to the state legislature.

Despite scuttling a TMCC Faculty Senate resolution that would have recognized the value of this cooperative work while reiterating the need for NFA involvement in all Title 4 Chapter 4 discussions, officers of State NFA plan to address the Regents this week to acknowledge the collaboration and to ask to be included in discussions about future changes.

  POLITICAL ACTION 

With good weather predicted for Saturday, organizers predict that thousands of local residents will participate in the No Kings rally to protest Trump administration actions. TMCC-NFA members are urged to join their colleagues from UNR at the rally as a show of unity and strength. NFA officers will be on hand with rally cards, buttons, and signs to promote our presence. Look for the NFA banner within the crowd to connect with your peers and coworkers. Although it is not required, we hope you will register your attendance at No Kings to help organizers get an accurate count of participants.

  SHARED GOVERNANCE 

Shared governance comes in multiple forms. At some institutions, shared governance is implemented by granting the faculty a guaranteed minimum of a one-seat majority on all administrative policy making bodies. At others, like TMCC, faculty have the right to form their own independent deliberative bodies to review policies and make recommendations to the administration. TMCC's shared governance is broad-based, intended to be inclusive of as many stakeholders as possible and ensure decisions are well-informed.

Unfortunately, there can be unintended consequences and the drive for inclusion, if not monitored, provides a pathway for administrative overreach. The problem is compounded when the faculty don't exercise the privileges of shared governance and step up to leadership roles. Independence is a casualty when administrators step in to fill the void left by hesitant faculty.

It is time for the TMCC Faculty Senate to review their bylaws to ensure that faculty voices remain independent and strong in shared governance.

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Drawing the line in shared governance

With another accreditation cycle underway, TMCC-NFA is seeking a volunteer to serve on the college accrediting team as an advocate for faculty interests defined in the collective bargaining agreement.

The accreditation process frequently results in new policies and procedures that impact faculty members and their workload. The TMCC-NFA contract allows the union to appoint one of its members to any shared governance body established by the administration, including the accreditation team. A TMCC-NFA representative will serve to ensure that any new policies and procedures developed in the accreditation process comply with our contract. Please contact any TMCC-NFA officer to express your interest in serving as an NFA representative on this important committee.

TMCC-NFA Officers

Jim New, President

Amy Cavanaugh, Secretary

Dan Hooper, Treasurer

Cheryl Cardoza, Past President