(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College trustees May 15 agreed to a state mediator’s suggestions to revive an expired contract offer to include retroactive raises and increase a one-time retirement incentive payment by $2,000 to address a bargaining stalemate with a support professionals union that a week later rejected the suggestions and authorized a strike.
A June 3 news release issued by Brooke E. Witt, PSEA Midwestern Region field director, stated incorrectly that the college issued a revised contract offer in May. The news release also incorrectly stated the only change in May was an increase to the one-time retirement incentive payment from $8,000 to $10,000, as suggested by the mediator. It failed to indicate BC3 trustees also agreed to the mediator’s suggestion that wage increases be retroactive to July 1, 2023.
Trustees authorized a final three-year contract offer Oct. 5 for the college’s secretarial and clerical employees. The offer was retroactive to July 1, 2023, and would expire Oct. 20 if not approved by the BC3 Education Support Professionals PSEA/NEA.
The offer included base-salary increases or hourly raises, a one-time $8,000 retirement incentive payment, additional personal days and higher starting hourly rates than those paid by eight Pennsylvania community colleges and by seven Butler County school districts that responded to a query this spring.
The union rejected the offer Oct. 16.
An impasse was declared. Negotiators proceeded to fact-finding. Marc A. Winters in his April 1 fact-finding report supported a number of college offers. His recommendation to further increase base salaries, raises and starting salaries was rejected by trustees and accepted by the union.
College and union negotiators met with the mediator from the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Bureau of Mediation on May 13, after which the mediator suggested the college revive the Oct. 5 contract offer to include retroactive raises and increase the one-time retirement incentive payment to $10,000.
Trustees agreed to the mediator’s suggestions May 15.
The union considered and rejected the suggestions May 23, according to Witt, and authorized “the bargaining team to issue a strike notice to the college at their discretion.”
BC3’s secretarial and clerical employees have continued to work under the terms of a previous contract’s addendum that expired June 30, 2023. College and union negotiators have met 14 times since January 2023 and have tentatively agreed on approximately 17 issues.
The college’s Oct. 5 offer featured a first-year $500 increase to base salaries of full-time employees and a 25-cent per hour increase for part-time workers; 3 percent annual raises for all employees; and full-time starting salary increases to $36,542 in the first year, $37,273 in the second and $38,018 in the third.
The starting hourly rate for full-time secretarial and clerical employees authorized by BC3 trustees Oct. 5 and retroactive to July 1, 2023, is $20.30 for a 37.5-hour workweek.
BC3 offered retirement incentive options that include a four-day workweek with a 20 percent pay reduction and full benefits, or the one-time $8,000 payment.
Trustees in October also authorized the addition of three personal days for part-time employees.
The college’s contract offer would have expired June 30, 2026. Its expenses are included in operating fund deficits projected in April to total approximately $4.8 million from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026. BC3 projects operating budgets of $26.1 million, $26.9 million and $27.7 million in fiscal years ending in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
BC3 has experienced a credit enrollment decline of 37 percent since 2014. The decrease is similar to that of other community colleges in Pennsylvania. It also learned April 5 from its health insurance consortium that the college will face a 9 percent increase in insurance costs effective July 1. The college’s health insurance costs increased by 14 percent from July 1 to June 30.
The union has 46 employees covered by collective bargaining. Its voting membership comprises 26 full-time and six part-time workers.
