New Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement Approved by Board

The East Central College Board of Trustees Monday, June 14, approved the negotiated collective bargaining agreement with faculty for the 2021-22 academic year.

Two primary changes address sabbaticals and a 4 percent pay increase, according to ECC-National Education Association (NEA) President Aaron Bounds.

“I am very happy with the process and how well the NEA and administrators worked together,” Bounds said.

The one-year deal was approved unanimously by the 29 current ECC-NEA members.

“This was a very collaborative process,” added ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer. “This covered a lot of areas, including compensation.”

Under the new agreement, the college and ECC-NEA recognized the importance of maintaining competitive salaries as compared to other community colleges in the region.

The agreement states that ECC commits to increasing faculty salaries to the average of base faculty salaries at the region’s community colleges, including Jefferson College, St. Charles Community College, and St. Louis Community College, within the next four years.

Sabbaticals

Bounds added that under the new CBA, the sabbatical process was refined and fleshed out.

“Sabbaticals were allowed but weren’t consistent over the last few years,” he said. “This cleaned up the process and ensures we could utilize a sabbatical when applicable.

“In fact, since adding this process we have already approved an application for this school year,” Bounds added.