Harper faculty contract can be reopened if legislation passes

Harper College has inked a new five-year contract with its full-time faculty, but parts of the deal can be renegotiated later if Springfield or Washington takes action on certain legislative proposals.

The 60-page agreement, approved unanimously by Harper's board of trustees Wednesday and ratified by faculty members this month, includes a provision allowing discussions to reopen after 2020 should the state implement a pension cost shift or property tax freeze, or if there are significant changes in health care costs related to the federal Affordable Care Act. The contract can also be reopened if the consumer price index exceeds 5 percent.

The new deal for the 230 Harper full-time faculty members, represented by Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600, takes effect Aug. 15, when the current two-year extension of the previous agreement expires. Both the board and union, whose bargaining teams reached a tentative agreement May 4, say they were satisfied by the outcome of negotiations.

"I am pleased we were able to reach a contract with our faculty that is fair and honors the board's commitment to fiscal responsibility," said Greg Dowell, Harper's board chairman, in a news release.

Added Tom Dowd, the former Faculty Senate president: "Both the board team and Senate team came to the table seeking common interests. The end result is a contract that is fair for the faculty, board and taxpayers."

The new contract calls for average annual salary increases of 3.4 percent, which college officials say will cost an average of $690,600 per year. The increases are 1.85 percent in the 2017-2018 school year, followed by 3.11 percent, 4.83 percent, 3.08 percent and 4.17 percent in the years thereafter.

As part of changes to health benefits, the board will contribute 5 percent less to the college's most expensive health care plan and won't accept any new members into it, while increasing its contributions to the lower-cost plans. The college is also adding a high-deductible PPO plan with Health Savings Accounts. Those changes should produce an overall savings to the college, officials said.

The full-time faculty union is Harper's second largest of six unionized employee groups, after the 702-member adjuncts union.

The new contract runs until August 2022.