South Dakota Council of Higher Education
March 7, 2012
Greetings!

Please read this letter from SDSU-COHE President Bill Adamson.
 
SDSU-COHE Chapter

Dear Colleagues,

The implementation date of the 12-month salary disbursement is part of the imposed SDBOR.  The SD Board of Regents has imposed a number of items that restrict faculty rights without agreement from the COHE negotiating team.  

 

This imposed contract is scheduled to be renegotiated this Spring.   Gary Aguiar, the State COHE President, will be the lead negotiator.  I would encourage you to convey your feelings on this subject to him.  Also, if you want to have a voice in events that affect faculty members, including the current SDBOR contract issues, I would strongly encourage you to join COHE.  We are routinely told in negotiations that COHE does not reflect faculty preferences because so few faculty are COHE members.  If more faculty were to join COHE, we would have a much stronger negotiating position with the SDBOR.   For those who join between now and September 1, we have a special joining fee of $313.  If you want an application form, I will gladly send you one.

 

Moreover, please note, all summer money will be paid in the pay periods it is earned.  If you teach a 3 credit hour course in the May interim period, you would get your prorated 9-month salary and 8% of your 9-month salary for summer teaching in the May and June pay cycles.  Income from grants would work the same way.  Gary Aguiar, the State COHE President, would be in the best position to answer specific questions regarding the accounting nightmare that the 12-month salary disbursement policy creates.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Adamson

SDSU COHE President

688-4105

 
I agree with everything Bill says above.  Please note the State COHE Board will be deciding on our bargaining priorities in a conference call next week Tuesday. 

(I hope you have a chance to complete the Bargaining Survey before it closes this coming Monday. A thank-you message and reminder will be arriving in your mailbox shortly.)

The COHE Board agenda includes a request for the BOR to reconsider their implementation date of the BOR twelve month payout proposal.  We will be meeting with the BOR negotiators on April 3, 2012 in Chamberlain.  

Also, Provost Nichols and I will be holding two Joint Open Forums on the "Interim Terms" / BOR Imposed Contract later this month.   These are designed to answer your questions about changes in terms of our employment.   I would be pleased to address this issue at that time.
 
Just a reminder, unlike other colleagues in other states, South Dakota public employees labor unions do not have the right to strike, nor binding arbitration.   The BOR is required by law to impose its last, best offer, which they did in December.

Bill is absolutely right, if our membership approached one-half of the bargaining unit, we would have more ability to make our case.  It works all the time in public employee labor unions across the state. Those with 70 or 80% membership win on many more issues in bargaining. Those like us, below 30%, have a much more difficult time.

Sincerely,
Gary Aguiar
State COHE President
 

Gary Aguiar
South Dakota Council of Higher Education