News Release

Rancho Santiago Community College District Declares Collective Bargaining Negotiations with Faculty Association to Be at Impasse

(Santa Ana, CA)—For the past 16 months, the Rancho Santiago Community College District has tirelessly endeavored to reach an equitable contract settlement with the Faculty Association of Rancho Santiago Community College District (FARSCCD). During these lengthy negotiations, the District has never missed, cancelled, or rescheduled a single bargaining session.

The District presented its Last, Best and Final Offer (LBFO) on June 29, 2016 in an effort to conclude negotiations for the 2015/2016 academic year. FARSCCD has rejected this offer. In the interest of transparency, the District is publishing its LBFO as an attachment to this statement.

On two separate occasions, August 2, 2016 and again on October 28, 2016, the District presented additional Negotiation Concepts, in a continuing effort to reach a Tentative Agreement. At FARSCCD’s request, these concepts included the District’s pre-commitment to 9th place ranking adjustments for both the previous and current academic years. However, the parties were still unable to reach resolution. Interested faculty may ask their bargaining representatives for further details of those concepts.

After 28 meetings, it is now clear to the District that the parties are at impasse. This means that it appears that further meetings between the parties without the assistance of a mediator would be futile. With the full support of the Board of Trustees, the District has provided notice to the FARSCCD Negotiating Team that the District believes the parties are at impasse and will submit notice to the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) to officially declare impasse. Upon PERB’s certification, the parties will go through the impasse procedures in an effort to resolve the negotiations.

The District is committed to this process and finding a resolution that is acceptable to our Faculty, equitable to our other bargaining units, fair to the students and protective of taxpayer dollars. We are hopeful that the formal, prescriptive nature of the impasse process will allow the two bargaining teams the opportunity to find common ground and reach a settlement.

The District remains steadfast in its desire to reach an agreement as quickly as possible while ensuring our long term fiscal health. The District is proud that both of its core campuses, Santiago Canyon College and Santa Ana College, have been named one of the best places to work by the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Orange County Register respectively; and the District will continue to work toward a fair contract that attracts superior talent for our students.

About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, which serves the residents of Anaheim Hills, Orange, Santa Ana, Villa Park, and portions of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, and Tustin. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, and customized training for business and industry.

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Contact: Judy Iannaccone

Phone: (714) 480-7503

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