Brookdale faculty rally over contract dispute

MIDDLETOWN - Brookdale Community College faculty took their beef with ongoing contract negotiations to students in the first of what they say will be weekly rallies until the labor dispute is resolved.

The faculty's union, the Brookdale Community College Faculty Association, used the school's midday break in classes to reach out to students about their contract concerns as well as what they say is a disparity in New Jersey when it comes to higher education funding.

"Community college students are not being served as well financially as students at four-year schools," BCCFA President Brandon Gramer said.

BCCFA has been at an impasse with Brookdale administration since June. Last month, faculty resigned unpaid positions as department heads and club advisers and in governance programs as a way to protest the stalled talks.

Brookdale administration issued a statement in response to the rally asking the faculty union to come back to the bargaining table.

"The intent of the board and college administration is to bargain in good faith pursuant to the mutually agreed upon parameters by all parties. In order to reach an agreement that is satisfactory to both parties, we must negotiate at the table with each other, not through the media and public forums," the statement said.

"At this critical time, we encourage the faculty association to return to the bargaining table where we can collaborate, negotiate and hopefully come to a mutually beneficial agreement. The college remains committed to bargaining in good faith and looks forward to meeting again with the faculty and their representatives."

Professors and instructors wore black shirts with the logo of a life preserver ring emblazoned with "Save Brookdale" as they spoke and handed out fliers to students.

One of those fliers asked students to attend meetings and call the Brookdale board of trustees as well as the Monmouth County freeholders, the county board that provides about a quarter of Brookdale's funding. That flier also suggested a script for students to use when calling either government board.

The second flier was on college funding in New Jersey.

Gramer said community college students are paying more than their fair share for their education compared with students who attend New Jersey-funded four-year universities. The information that faculty gave students said New Jersey contributed $10,276 per student — about 76 cents for every dollar a student pays in tuition — to pay for Rutgers in 2013.

That same year, the state contributed about $1,780 per student to Brookdale's budget, about 41 cents for every dollar a student pays here in tuition, the flier said.

The shortfall in state funding has left Brookdale with difficult budget choices. The faculty association says Brookdale's board of trustees is making the wrong decisions, cutting services without regard to the best interests of the school's educational offering.

Jeanne Vloyanetes, a history professor, said the board needs to "make better bottom-line decisions." She said cuts made over the past year and a half were done "abruptly and were not well thought out."

"It's very disheartening to see it has come to this," said Vloyanetes, who has worked at Brookdale since 1983. "We are about this place, and we care about the students."

Gramer said the faculty association's issues in these contract negotiations hinge on salary and health care benefits. The last contract offered a 1 percent raise in the first year and 2 percent raises in the last two years, but the faculty will not receive any pay increase during the stalled contract talks.

Meanwhile, the faculty is paying anywhere between 15 to 35 percent of the costs for health insurance. Gramer said the school administration wants to limit the number of health care plans the faculty can choose from the array offered by the state.

"If you are paying that much (for health insurance), you should have the ability to choose," he said.

Source: App.com