It was standing-room only at the Triton College board meeting May 15, as members of the faculty union crowded the room to express their frustration about ongoing contract negotiations.
The union supporters wore matching red T-shirts and held fliers proclaiming “Fair contracts now!” and “Support faculty!” Many spoke during public comment about their concerns with the contract talks.
Contract negotiations began about eight weeks before the meeting, but the administration’s bargaining position has not changed in that time, according to Joe Dusek, the Triton College Faculty Association president and a math professor at the school. The full-time faculty union’s current contract expires June 30.
The union initially proposed a 4 percent yearly raise for three years, plus added assessment responsibilities for faculty, Dusek said. The administration offered a 2 percent annual raise for three years, with the possibility of additional pay increases tied to growth in enrollment, he said.
However, engineering technology instructor Antigone Sharris told the board that attaching wage increases to enrollment would poison the Triton community. Her statement was met with applause and echoed by Dusek in a later interview when he said the administration’s proposal treats students like a commodity.
“This proposal would reduce students to basically being widgets coming out of a factory,” he said.
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Multiple union representatives at the May 15 meeting also suggested $3.6 million used by Triton to purchase 10 acres of land adjacent to the college in late 2017 could have gone to faculty raises.
“That $3.6 million would more than cover … what our faculty is asking for,” said Tony Johnston, president of Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600, which is the parent union of Triton’s faculty association.
Johnston went on to question how classroom instruction factored into Triton’s priorities. Board Chairman Mark Stephens responded by suggesting to Johnston that he “open your eyes,” although Stephens expressed regret for making that statement later in the meeting.
“You can’t always just give, give, give, say yes, say yes, say yes,” Stephens said, citing a lack of funding from the state. “ … I make zero apologies on how we’ve dealt with … the employees groups.”
Stephens defended himself as an advocate for faculty, saying he “protect(s) our employees’ asses.” He also spoke about enrollment being central to the future of the school.
Triton public relations coordinator Stephen Butera said the college was unable to comment further on the contract dispute because negotiations are ongoing.
Triton’s median salary for full-time faculty is $64,226 and its average salary for full-time faculty is $70,747, according to a 2017 salary report from the Illinois Community College Board.
Dusek said the union and college administration have been meeting at least once a week since negotiations began. Moving forward, those meetings will include faculty association attorneys and representatives from Local 1600, he said.