Contract negotiations between the administration and faculty of the Seattle Colleges, which include South Seattle College have reached a deadlock and a federal mediator is coming in to resolve the conflict.
Despite this, and to bring attention, and likely pressure to the mediation process a walkout by faculty is planned for Thursday, November 17 at 12:30 in front of the Olympic Hall theater.
The Chancellor is scheduled to do a budget update at 1:30,
Faculty member and English Instructor Mike Hickey said, "We haven't received a salary increase in seven years, our tenured faculty with PhD's can't even afford to rent an apartment in West Seattle, and meanwhile the Admin has over $20M in a reserve fund. Oh, and did I mention? The president's salary has increased 28% in those seven years. Out of 34 community and technical colleges in the state, Seattle FT faculty is ranked 14th, yet Seattle has the highest cost of living by far."
The faculty members also say that the SCC student government has agreed to support them and will be in attendance at the walkout.
Earnest Phillips II, APR, Executive Director Marketing and Communications for Seattle Colleges speaking on their behalf said, "We recognize and understand the challenges our employees are facing. Stagnant wages and the high cost of living in Seattle are putting pressure on all state employees working in the region.
Community colleges in Seattle, Olympia, and the Tri-Cities all receive the same base funding per student. The funding formula does not account for our region’s high operating costs nor the differences in cost of living.* This is having a direct effect on the student experience and limits our ability to adjust wages. Our employees are doing similar work as other state employees across the state, and yet they are denied an opportunity to have the same quality of life. A regional pay structure, like those instituted for the highway patrol and Washington State Department of Transportation, could provide the necessary relief.
*According to Salary.com, the cost of living and working in Seattle is 13.4% higher than Olympia and 20.2% higher than Richmond (near the Tri-Cities).
In regard to the negotiations
Seattle Colleges is in contract negotiations with the AFT Seattle union. There has been progress made on several fronts, but the two sides have not come to an agreement on all areas, one of which is salary increases.
Enrollment shifts, increases in operating cost, and changes in the state’s funding model have created a perfect storm leaving Seattle Colleges with an $8 million - $10 million budget reduction over the next four years. Despite this, Seattle Colleges has offered increases of at least 11.1 percent for full-time faculty and 7.8 percent for part-time faculty over the three years of the contract (July 2016 – June 2019).
At the November 4, 2016 bargaining session, the parties agreed to engage a mediator. This mediation is scheduled to begin November 18, 2016.
Base funding
Without going into too much complexity, the base funding per student across the state is $2,910."
