Community College of Philadelphia gets fact finder for faculty and staff union negotiations

Over the objection of the Community College of Philadelphia faculty and staff union, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has appointed a fact finder to help with negotiations.

The college administration, which requested a fact finder in the hopes of averting a strike and securing a peaceful close to the semester, announced the development Tuesday afternoon.

“The appointment of a fact finder provides an avenue to settlement that will protect our students from the harm that would come from a Federation strike so close to graduation,” the college said in a statement.

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

Under the fact-finding process, a neutral party reviews both sides’ offers and recommends a solution. Strikes by law are not permitted during the fact-finding process.

But faculty union leaders have already raised questions about the legitimacy of the fact finder appointment, asserting that the college had missed the deadline to apply for one.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, of which the labor relations board is a part, declined to comment on the timeliness of the fact finder request.

Union copresident Junior Brainard, who called the college’s request for fact-finding “a cowardly Hail Mary delay tactic,” said the union remains focused on negotiating fair contracts for its members. He challenged the college to fairly negotiate rather than rely on a process that will take months to complete.

“We are prepared to take any necessary steps including lawful strike if needed,” he said.

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 Faculty and Staff Federation, the union, has scheduled a news conference outside City Hall on Thursday morning. The union represents about 1,200 full-time faculty, staff, and adjuncts and announced earlier this week that its members by a 97% majority voted to give their negotiating team the right to call a strike if necessary. No strike date has been set.

» READ MORE: CCP faculty overwhelmingly approve strike authorization vote

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%.