Overload pay offer boosts CSN faculty contract talks

Three salary items remain major sticking points between College of Southern Nevada faculty and administration as the two sides enter the 20th month of contract talks.

The administration, however, came to the bargaining table on Friday with money for one of the salary items — overload pay — and it was enough to stave off legal action, Nevada Faculty Alliance President Bob Manis said.

“They have asked for more time because they claim that they need to consult with more people,” Manis said. “We’re going to have one more session for them to get whatever permissions they need.”

Manis said that the union was prepared to seek a declaratory judgment in district court, or go to a fact finder had the administration not come back with a better proposal by midnight on June 30 regarding overload pay, equity pay and lab pay.

At a bargaining session on Friday morning, the administration proposed raising overload pay, which a faculty member earns when teaching more than 15 instructional units a semester, from $825 to $925 by the second year of the contract. It was enough for the union to extend the deadline by two weeks, Manis said.

“We’re at a point where it needs to be wrapped up,” Manis said. “Particularly given that there’s been so little movement on the financial issues. We’ve been extremely patient.”

Patty Charlton, the chief negotiator for the administration team, said she’s optimistic.

“We think we’re continuing to make significant progress,” she said, adding that the administration put forward six proposals on Friday. Arbitration, faculty engagement and shared governance were some of the other items discussed.

If an agreement is reached it would be in place for three years, and apply to full-time academic faculty members, librarians and counselors. Adjunct faculty members are not included in the process, per the policy of the state Board of Regents. The board must give the agreement final approval.

The College of Southern Nevada is the third school in the state to attempt collective bargaining. Truckee Meadows Community College reached an agreement in 1996, and almost 20 years later, Western Nevada College achieved an agreement in 2014.

Manis said the two sides plan to come to the bargaining table during the week of July 9.

Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3897. Follow @Nataliebruzda on Twitter.