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Student petition on negotiations to be presented to district board
The Advocate
Support for the MHCC Full-time Faculty Association was shown by students Thursday afternoon in the Main Mall as they gathered to rally and obtain signatures on a petition documenting their position.
Jenni Simonis, an MHCC student and one of the main organizers of the rally, said the main goal is to prevent a faculty strike and for compromises to be made on both sides in order to reach an agreement.
"Our wish is that they (the board) stop using a paid lawyer for negotiating and to negotiate how they have in the past," that being negotiating with those who are directly involved with the school.
"As long as they sit down and negotiate, we can avoid a strike," she said.
Before and during the rally, a petition was passed around campus to gather student signatures in support of the faculty. Simonis said the petition will be presented to the district board at its Wednesday meeting
"It states that our faculty are more than just teachers," said Simonis on the details of the petition, saying that in the case of a strike, "We lose more than an instructor. We lose mentors and a support system.
"We want to be heard. Hopefully they will listen and take responsibility for what they haven't been doing," she said.
June Jacobs, assistant to the MHCC president, said Thursday, "I would like to see negotiations settled for the students sake," adding she feels neither side wishes any harm on students.
Brian Freeman, an MHCC District board member, acknowledged the students right to gather, but encourages that they weigh both sides.
"Students have that right. I just expect them to be well informed," he said. "I'm sure some will side with the faculty and others will not."
In regard to whether the board would take into consideration the petition, he said, "It depends whether or not they're informed and how many (signatures) there are."
"I'm sure if they collect a lot of signatures, we'll take a look at it."
In the midst of these negotiations, the board has also moved to file a complaint against the faculty association to the State Employment Relations Board.
"It says basically that we feel that the other side isn't following the rules," Freeman said. "The faculty has filed their own complaint and they have their own reasons," he added. "If we want to get this done, we have to follow the rules," he said.
Jack Schommer, immediate past president of the faculty association, said that though he "feels good" that students are participating with the negotiating process, he said, "I'm not interested in students taking my side, I'm interesting in them learning and taking a side.
"It brings another voice to the table," he said. "Students have power because they're ultimately why we're all here.
"They're included in any harm that results from the strike. They cannot be an outside observer," Schommer said.
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