Some Central Oregon Community College faculty say they are feeling optimistic, unified and committed to finding a solution to achieving fair wages after the May 13 rally attended by over 75 demonstrators.
COCC faculty have reached day 119 of good-faith bargaining with their employer and only have 26 more to go before they reach the minimum days required to exchange a proposal. During this time, some faculty have been outspoken about the financial challenges they face, and the uncertainty left after many potential hires have sought work elsewhere due to what they say were salary concerns.
“The disparity between what people in the industry versus what educators make is pretty stark. To be clear, none of us entered this profession with the intention of trying to make a lot of money, but we still deserve to be able to take care of ourselves and our families on our wages,” COCC Human Development Professor Sara Henson told the Source.
According to Henson, faculty are asking for two primary things: a living wage and reasonable workloads. Over the past years, staff say that they have been tasked with a more demanding onset of responsibilities that, paired with low wages, make teaching in the communities they live in difficult.
“We were a first-choice employer when we got hired. I think that’s where the frustrations coming from faculty is. We are just trying to get everybody to work together,” Henson says.
Obtaining a job as a full-time faculty member requires a master’s degree, a significant amount of industry experience and starts out at $61,560.
Henson says with the way the salary scale is set up at COCC, it takes faculty approximately eight years to get to a point where they are making $75,000 per year.
To compare, the median household income for two people in Bend is $96,394.
COCC President Greg Pereira responded to the rally by saying, “COCC respects the faculty’s right to gather and share their perspectives as part of the collective bargaining process. Negotiations are ongoing and both parties continue to meet regularly in good faith. We value and appreciate the important work our faculty do each day for our students and communities, and we remain committed to productive conversations that support our employees, students and the long-term health of the institution.”
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