Skilled workers at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District called in a third party to settle salary negotiations with the board of trustees after four months of discord.
Erica Zweig, a spokeswoman from the California Schools Employee Association, which represents the 90 skilled employees in the district, said the association filed an impasse with the Public Employment Relations Board in San Francisco last month in order to expedite a settlement.
Zweig said under an impasse, the district and the workers' association must reach an agreement within 15 days after meeting with a mediator, or a panel will be appointed for both sides to present their case.
The negotiation is part of the workers' three-year contract, which allows for annual salary and benefit adjustments. Any pay increases will be retroactive to July 1, 1998, Zweig said.
Zweig said the association believes the stalled negotiations are the result of bad relations between the board and the skilled workers, who include district custodians, carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other laborers. She said there has been employee unrest since the board launched an investigation of misconduct among district custodians in 1997, which resulted in criminal charges against some skilled workers and the termination of 27 custodians. Zweig said the association believes the investigation circumvented the discipline section of the contract between workers represented by the association and the college.
"We feel as though (the delay) is a reflection of attitude of the board towards this unit. We feel we are experiencing retaliation from the board," she said.
Zweig said the association has been negotiating for a 4.5 percent salary increase to be distributed among the 90 skilled workers since October. The district has only agreed to a 4 percent increase - $23,000 below what the association is requesting, she said.
Zweig said the district is offering the skilled workers less for their overall compensation package than those of other employee groups. She said because of budgeting, the district did not have to pay its annual 7 percent retirement benefits for employees this year. Zweig said the association is asking the district to consider those savings and offer the skilled workers salary increases comparable to that of other district employees.
The board agreed to a 3.58 percent salary increase for district faculty and to a tentative 3 percent raise for district classified staff, said Jane Enright, vice chancellor of human resources. The total compensation package for faculty employees is about a 4.6 percent increase, she said.
She said the faculty and classified staffs asked for lower salary increases, but their total compensation packages are more than what the skilled employees have asked for.
Greg Parman, director of human resources for the district, said the district was still negotiating with the skilled workers over money issues. The district had not received a formal letter of impasse at the time of this interview, according to Parman.