LMC Board of Trustees Approves Labor Contract

At the June meeting, the Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees approved a new five-year contract with its Facilities Workers Union MEA/NEA.

The contract, effective July 1, covers 21 facilities staff at the college and calls for an annual wage increase of 3.5 percent effective January 1, 2020. Additional wage increases of 3.5 percent and 2 percent will take place in January 2021 and 2022. There will not be a wage increase in the final two years of the contract. The effective date for these increases was moved from July 1 to coincide with other college staff. 

Also, in line with all LMC staff, compensation study adjustments to one standard deviation of the median will take place over the next two fiscal years for utility classification workers and one maintenance technician position. The remainder of the classifications were found to be competitive.

"We appreciate how the Lake Michigan College Facilities Workers Union worked together with the college administration team to meet the needs of its members while also understanding the need to remain fiscally responsible in planning for the future," LMC Board of Trustees Chair Debra Johnson said. "We believe this agreement continues to demonstrate how LMC values our employees and recognizes the important contributions each one of them makes."

Other significant changes to the labor agreement include:

• Temporary appointments for members committed to expanded training (e.g., apprenticeship, customized training, college courses) to achieve maintenance technician competencies 
• Expanded professional development including required safety instruction
• Increased flexibility in the use of temporary and seasonal staffing
• Expanded supervisor ability to work side by side with bargaining unit member(s) for repairs, response to emergencies and safety concerns, and new skill instruction