The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Faculty stage ‘clap in’ as negotiations draw to close
Eight days after issuing a 10-day strike notice, Lakeland Community College’s faculty association held a “clap-in” Aug. 24 in the parking lot of the college’s Holden University Center.
The school’s 129 faculty members, represented by the Lakeland Faculty Association, are in the midst of their three-year contract negotiations with the college over salaries and benefits and the talks are coming to a close, said Carl Stitz, spokesman for the group.
“Basically, what we do is cheer our team as they enter negotiations,” he said, adding that the team is comprised of six full-time faculty members and a labor relations consultant from the Ohio Education Association, which is the state teacher’s union.
Stitz said the negotiations, which take place every three years, are an arduous process and often come down to the 11th hour, in terms of whether a strike and picketing will take place. So the full-time faculty members who show up are there to lend support and encouragement toward the end of the talks.
“It’s to show our support because this is an intense process,” Stitz said.
“Basically, what we do is cheer our team as they enter negotiations .” — Carl Stitz,spokesman for Lakeland Faculty Association
He said after the brief clap-in, which commenced about 9:15 a.m., the hundred or so teachers in attendance planned to return to their classrooms on the school’s main campus across the street to “prepare for our classes,” which begin Saturday.
“We’ve been working, in good faith, that we’ll reach an agreement sometime before Saturday,” he said, adding that, although the faculty negotiators aren’t allowed to share any specifics
about the process, he’s optimistic about the talks’ outcome based on the last time contracts were up for renewal.
“I’m optimistic because of how it worked out then,” said Stitz, who is beginning his 18th year at the college this semester.
Lakeland Community College President Morris W. Beverage said the college and the union have the same goal and have been working together for a long time to come to an agreement.
“We’ve been in negotiations for quite a while,” Beverage said in an Aug. 24 phone interview. “Certainly,
we share their desire to reach an agreement before tomorrow.”
If that doesn’t happen, Stitz explained, full-time faculty will begin picketing Saturday, the first day of fall semester, at 5 a.m.
“Tomorrow night’s meeting is tentatively scheduled and we hope it’s a ratification meeting,” he said. “But, if not, we would call a strike vote and, if the membership votes to strike, we’ll strike at 5 a.m. Saturday and continue until we reach an agreement.”
He said the last such negotiation “came down to the Friday before (classes), as well.”
“Usually, they’ve been settled the week before classes started,” he said.
In his time at Lakeland, Beverage said he’s learned to keep a reserved attitude about the talks.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years I’ve been involved with the Lakeland Faculty Association, and I’ve been here for more than half of them, is that you can’t predict the results of negotiations,” he said. “My belief is that both sides are committed to reaching an agreement. So, if that’s optimism, I’m optimistic.”
He added that “there is a process involved here and we’re going through it.”