CCP faculty and staff union set to strike Wednesday

The faculty and staff union at Community College of Philadelphia says members will begin a strike 7 a.m. Wednesday if an agreement for three new contracts isn’t reached.

The strike would come during the fact-finding process, which the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board initiated last week at the college administration’s request.

Striking is prohibited during fact finding, according to state labor law, but the union has said it doesn’t think the fact-finding process is legitimate because the college missed the deadline for applying for it; the college has disputed that assertion.

» READ MORE: Community College of Philadelphia gets fact finder for faculty and staff union negotiations

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, of which the labor board is a part, has declined to comment on the union’s assertion. A spokesperson noted the act governing striking during fact-finding, but added: “This question is best suited for the Court of Common Pleas.”

And that’s where it could end up if the 1,200-member union, including full-time faculty, staff, and adjuncts, does strike. The college could seek a court injunction to force members back to class or take their arguments to the labor board.

The union announced the strike deadline during an informational picket Monday in the courtyard in front of the Bonnell Building on the college’s main campus at 1700 Spring Garden St.

“We believe we still have the legal right to strike,” said Junior Brainard, copresident of the union. “We’re available to bargain around the clock until Wednesday morning. We are hoping to reach an agreement as soon as possible. But if we are unable to reach an agreement, we are prepared to strike.”

Brainard called a strike “a tool of last resort.”

A strike would impact the college’s 12,400 credit students and 1,381 noncredit students enrolled there this spring.

» READ MORE: CCP administration says union has rebuffed bid for fact-finding in contract negotiations

Both Brainard and Shannon McLaughlin Rooney, the college’s vice president of enrollment management and strategic communications, said progress had been made over the weekend during negotiations. Rooney called it “significant movement.”

“Given the fact that we have been bargaining with the federation all weekend and because we have a full bargaining day scheduled tomorrow [Tuesday] that they agreed to, we are surprised and quite frankly disappointed that they would take the step of announcing a strike deadline at this point,” Rooney said.

She said the administration would view a strike as unlawful and would take steps to intervene.

Brainard said the union is still looking for progress on wages, staffing issues, and securing free SEPTA passes for students.

Union leadership last week announced that by a 97% majority, members voted to give their negotiating team the right to call a strike if necessary.

The last time the union went on strike was 2007 and classes were canceled.

The two sides have been negotiating for more than 14 months; previous contracts for faculty, staff, and adjuncts expired Aug. 31.

The college has been offering a three-year contract with raises of 5%, 4%, and 4%, while the union is seeking a four-year pact with raises of 9%, 9%, 6%, and 6%.

» READ MORE: CCP faculty overwhelmingly approve strike authorization vote

The college last week announced it had requested a fact finder in the hopes of averting a strike and securing a peaceful close to the semester. Under the fact-finding process, a neutral party reviews both sides’ offers and recommends a solution.

The fact finder has 40 days to meet with the parties, review their positions and prepare a report, the labor department said. After the report is issued, the parties have up to 10 days to review it and accept or reject it. If either side rejects the report, the labor board will make it public and both sides will have 10 days to reconsider it.

The union had opposed fact-finding. Brainard called it “a cowardly Hail Mary delay tactic.”