Snowed: The New Inclement Weather Language

Here is the short, sweet, and simple AFT contract language:

When classes are cancelled or the college is closed due to weather or other circumstances, all Faculty members (both teaching and non-teaching) need not report to work and shall suffer no loss of pay or charge to any other leave.

Ours is more complicated. It is also seriously flawed. Our language begins, “Pursuant to Board policy…” In other words, our contract language is not set, but rather is variable, depending on the BOT policy in effect at that time. The BOT is notorious for not following their own policies, and an early, though eventually abandoned, contract demand for us was the right to grieve the BOT when they failed to follow their own policies.

In other words, the AFT has clear contract language, and we have whatever the BOT decides their policy to be at that time.

To make matters worse, 4C’s members who apply for vacation or PL days in advance of a college closing are still charged for this time. The AFT is not.

Here is a portion of the HR email to NCC staff after the 2/26/07 snow day:

Employees scheduled for a day off (i.e. personal leave or vacation day), are to charge the full day to accrued leave as originally planned. AFT Counselors and Librarians who were scheduled for the day off are not required to charge this day to accrued time.

The bottom line is that our current union leaders agreed to take less than what our AFT colleagues already have—again.

NEXT: Our New Sick Leave Language Leaves Us Ill