Developing A Model for Effective Senate/Union Relations

Spring
1996
Topic
Local Senates
Committee
Relations with Local Senates Committee

Academic senates and bargaining agents both represent faculty. Each has a unique, defined role, but faculty issues often overlap the areas of responsibility of both the senate and the bargaining agent. It is to the best interest of faculty that the two organizations cooperate and collaborate. With the complexity of challenges facing community colleges, it is expected that this would be a common situation in need of well-defined, agreed-upon strategies. The principles for the development of such a collaboration include significant participation by both parties, agreement by consensus, integrating the knowledge and expertise of all, representing points of view and interests rather than hardened positions, and an open, visible, informal process which generates steady, incremental progress.