Oakton professors to get raises, unless state legislation advances
Oakton Community College has reached a four-year deal with the union representing its 154 full-time faculty members, but the contract can be reopened for negotiations if state legislators implement a property tax freeze or pension cost shift that could hinder the college's finances, officials said.
Professors at the Des Plaines-based school are due to receive a pool of raises averaging 2.98 percent a year over the course of the contract, which was unanimously approved this week by the college's board of trustees and ratified last week by the faculty union.
But the agreed-upon raises in the last two years of the contract can be brought back to the bargaining table if in the first two years legislators approve plans to freeze taxes or require Oakton to cover pension payments.
“We had a very positive negotiations process that went on over the past academic year,” said Katherine Schuster, the Faculty Association president. “Interest-based bargaining has worked well for us in the past, and it did so again, even though there's a lot of uncertainty in the state.”
In an effort to incentivize more senior faculty members to retire, the new contract also contains a provision awarding those who decide to retire additional raises and the promise of post-retirement lump sum payments.
Those who declare by October that they plan to retire by July 31, 2017, will receive an additional 3 percent raise. After retirement, they will also be in line to get $3,000 for every year of teaching, up to $90,000.
Those who declare by October 2017 they will retire by July 31, 2018, will receive a single post-retirement payout of $25,000.
Schuster said the lump sums come after the professors leave Oakton, and can't be used in calculation of a faculty member's final pension.
Though both sides have approved the agreement, Oakton officials didn't release a formal copy — only a two-page “negotiations summary” — since they say it is still being finalized.
Schuster said the agreement should be released in a couple weeks.
The contract will be in effect from Aug. 15, 2016, through Aug. 17, 2020.