COD dinner widens rift between faculty, administrators
College of DuPage Faculty Association officials say a dinner they sponsored this week was meant as a relationship-building event between the faculty and administration — a time for both sides to break bread despite being locked in contentious negotiations over a new contract.
Instead, they say, the event at COD's Wheat Cafe widened the rift when not a single administrator attended and only three of seven elected trustees — the ones previously endorsed by the faculty union — showed up.
About 40 faculty members representing the union's leadership put in an appearance. The event wasn't open to all 295 members of the union, said Faculty Association President Glenn Hansen.
He said the annual dinner, planned since February, was intentionally meant to be a “social evening” that wouldn't include discussion of “work or agendas” — particularly the bitter contract dispute that's led to mediation after more than a year of negotiations.
“This evening was not planned to discuss business but to build relationships that will be important after negotiations are completed,” Hansen said in a statement.
COD spokesman Joe Moore said the union is resorting to “grade-school childlike tactics” to get sympathy in the media.
“If the facts don't support their position, then they resort to these kind of tactics,” Moore said. “We don't have to do that.”
Through negotiations, college administrators have sought to reduce the pay rate for faculty members who teach summer courses, as well as increase required classroom time for those who teach lab or studio classes.
The faculty has agreed to some of the administration's proposed givebacks, including paying 20 percent of health insurance premiums instead of the current 10 percent, and paying one-third the cost of tuition for themselves and dependents, instead of none.
College officials say they have proposed salary increases of 2.85 percent, 3.15 percent, 3.55 percent and 4.15 percent over the course of the proposed contract — though union officials have disputed those numbers, arguing that higher-paid faculty would actually receive much smaller pay bumps.
COD Board Chairman Dave Carlin said he's attended previous dinners with faculty, but didn't this year because of the possibility the contract would come up for discussion.
“I've had faculty members chew on my ear regarding college matters (at previous dinners),” Carlin said. “In light of that and from that experience, I thought it was best just to not allow for a situation where contract negotiations could continue outside of the negotiations table.”
Trustee Kim Savage, who attended the dinner with trustees Dianne McGuire and Nancy Svoboda, said she had conversations with faculty about things such as their children, vacations they are taking and books they are writing.
“I think the idea was everybody put any kind of tension aside and get to know people better,” Savage said. “I thought it was important enough to be there. It was important enough to me to make sure I made my time available to go.”
Negotiating teams for both sides have met with a federal mediator twice since April 6, with additional sessions scheduled for Friday and Sunday.
COD President Robert Breuder has said he's aiming to have negotiations wrapped up next month — potentially by the time of the next college board meeting May 10.