Delta College faculty votes to join state union

Delta College faculty, for the first time in the school's 58-year history, has voted overwhelmingly to unionize.

In an election managed by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, the vote was 145-24, with one ballot not marked, in favor of joining the Michigan Education Association (MEA).

Delta had been the only school among the state's 28 community colleges to not be part of a union.

The college has a long history of shared governance that involves collective decision-making among staff. It's an operational model that some faculty claim has been under siege at Delta. Critics view President Jean Goodnow's Board of Trustee-directed "Go Forward" initiative as a prime example of normal internal governance methods being circumvented.

Goodnow disagrees, saying that the Board has clearly told her that issues impacting the college's financial solvency, including declining enrollment and student retention, must be addressed directly and definitively. This involves implementing new measures that aren't going to sit well with everybody. They may involve increasing class sizes, eliminating low-enrollment programs and adding new ones. More weekend and evening classes and condensing the traditional 15-week semester to some eight-week offerings are other possibilities as Delta strives to be more customer-focused, officials said.

"It's time for change," Goodnow said. "Often people are fearful of change. But the Board has told me they want to know specifically what we're going to do. Saying we're working on it or we're in discussions isn't enough. Former Trustee Early Selby used to tell me that we can't keep kicking the can down the road. Tough decisions have to be made."

Delta's enrollment has dropped about 33 percent since 2011. Yet Delta, Goodnow said, has not let go of any faculty and, as Senate policy dictates, continued to maintain a ratio of about 65 percent full-time instructors to 35 percent part-timers.

"That's unheard of for a college our size," she said. "Some years I've been above that ratio. That makes us very unique among Michigan institutions of higher learning. You don't hear about that."

Karen Randolph is a Delta English professor. She maintains that on numerous occasions the Board directed the president to make changes without using "our shared governance model."

Randolph cites the president's "Go-Forward model, described by Goodnow as a monthly accountability of directives from her bosses, the nine-member Board, as a prime example of bypassing procedure.

"In short, instead of taking our agreed-upon shared governance route to get things done at the college, there was top-down decision-making that was negatively affecting faculty culture and we had to do something about it," Randolph said.

She said the vote to unionize has energized the faculty ranks and will strengthen shared governance at Delta.

"Those that have unionized recently -- Northwestern Michigan College and Southwestern Michigan College -- have found that the marriage between shared governance and the union has not only made the decision-making stronger, but has also made relationships more respectful and less unsure."

Newly elected Midland County Trustee Stacey Gannon doesn't view faculty unionization as a major deal providing all parties keep focused on the end game.

"I don't think it's earth shattering," she said. "As long as we stay focused on students, we'll be fine."

"I'm disappointed that in some respects we're moving away from shared governance at Delta," Goodnow said. "The Board is clear in giving the president direction to contain costs, bring in new in-demand programs and improve retention rates. We're in an extremely competitive environment and our lower cost of tuition, long a selling point, is being challenged by other institutions like Saginaw Valley State University which can offer scholarships we can't. Four-year schools are not always accepting transfer credits like they should. We need to do a better job of collaborating with them."

Goodnow, who was president of Illinois Valley Community College before taking over as Delta's leader nearly 15 years ago, said she has successfully worked in union environments.

"I had a great relationship at Illinois Valley," she said. "I come from a strong union and shared governance environment. I don't believe collective bargaining is going to be a detriment at Delta."

Delta Human Resources Director Scott Lewless said, "Delta College respects the faculty's decision to become members of the Michigan Education Association. Delta is the last of Michigan's 28 community colleges to go to faculty collective bargaining. Our administration is committed to working with our faculty as we transition from our existing shared government process to a more traditional collective bargaining approach."

Randolph said the faculty didn't unionize over wages and benefits.

"We unionized because we have lost the certainty of our work rules," she said. "We weren't sure what was next on the chopping block, and we weren't willing to wait and find out."

Delta's move this year from a division chair system to an associate dean model rankled many faculty.

The change means newly hired administrators rather than faculty members now lead the college's five academic divisions.

"That was kind of the last straw for us," Randolph said. "Those division chairs were full-time faculty and they were ousted from their positions with no real understanding as to their roles and their responsibilities in our culture.

There were other, numerous times that Senate policy and procedure were not followed, but this is probably the most odious of examples."

The Board, as a whole, disagrees. As Midland County Trustee Michael Nash has opined: "Ultimately, the community has elected us to be caretakers of the institution and select a president to lead and set the strategic direction for the institution. Collaboration on how to get to this destination is great but the bus will be leaving the station sooner rather than later. You can either get on the bus or not get on the bus. But the bus is leaving and it won't wait and won't be held back by those resisting change."

Goodnow said the college has streamlined its academic divisions from eight to five because the institution is smaller, as reflected by the major decline in student headcount and credit hour production. She also said the new academic dean model represents cost-savings and a year-round commitment to students. Previously, faculty chairs were granted full release from their instructional duties with full-time pay plus supplemental pay -- all on a nine-month contract, Goodnow said.

"Nowhere else have we ever seen this kind of arrangement," she said. "We needed people to be here in the summer for students. We have brought in people who have been faculty elsewhere. We invited all our chairs to apply for the positions."

Faculty has two years remaining on its contract, but Delta and the MEA will begin negotiations for a new agreement that will govern all full-time faculty.

"The parties begin negotiations with a blank slate, and once it is completed, the collective bargaining agreement will supersede current wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment," Goodnow noted.

"Faculty is reinvigorated because of this vote," Randolph said. "And it's a pretty telling statement in terms of the numbers. We are not a disgruntled few. We are a unified faculty with a new outlook on our future and we look forward to working with administration to create the Delta Difference with students and with our community."