Erie County to Cover Employee Back Pay from 2020-24; New Contract resolves Multi-Year Issues Around Compensation, Enrollment, Measurements of Staff/Student Success
ERIE COUNTY, NY— The SUNY Erie Board of Trustees today voted to approve a new FFECC contract, ending multi-year discussions with an agreement that covers 289 full-time and 100 part-time SUNY Erie employees. Modest annual pay increases, which can be adjusted as enrollment increases or decreases, and the addition of more competitive starting salaries to aid recruitment are facets of the agreement, as is $2.5 million in back pay for 2020-24, a cost that will be absorbed by Erie County.
“SUNY Erie is a critical component of the higher education portfolio here in Erie County and is the place where many residents begin their secondary education or come to upgrade their skills for the labor market. Having a fair and equitable contract in place for these employees ensures that the work of building our workforce continues uninterrupted,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “As a sign of our commitment to SUNY Erie, the county is covering the back pay owed to these employees. I thank the negotiating parties for staying at the task and reaching an amicable and strong solution after a lengthy process.”
Other components of the agreement include protocols for meeting student success outcomes including annual, non-punitive observation and evaluation of all faculty, librarians, and advisors/counselors by peers and instructional support coaches, and modifications to the number of department chairs to be determined by enrollment and contact hours rather than location. There is no retirement incentive included in the new agreement, as it is anticipated that several forthcoming retirements will reduce the financial increase over the previous collective bargaining agreement.
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