PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia Common Pleas judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Community College of Philadelphia against its faculty and staff union for engaging in what the college claimed was an illegal partial strike. To win an injunction, the administration had to show that the union was endangering the welfare of Philadelphia residents by refusing to perform work not required by the faculty contract.
Common Pleas Judge Daniel J. Anders was not persuaded and dismissed the college’s complaint based on the objections filed by the Union. As a result, the College’s request for an injunction was denied as moot.
It is the second time CCP has been rebuffed in its effort to force the faculty to perform uncompensated activity outside of the contract. In April, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board declined to rule on the issue.
“Instead of negotiating an agreement that invests in students and supports the vital work we do, the administration is wasting time and money filing frivolous, unwinnable lawsuits,” said Steve Jones, co-president of the Faculty and Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia, Local 2026 of the American Federation of Teachers. “We are not on strike. Our goal is to bring the administration back to the table to bargain in good faith in order to reach a contract that continues to support the academic success of our students and is fair to faculty and staff.”
CCP’s contract with 1,300 full-time faculty, adjunct faculty members and support staff expired in August 2016, and the administration has refused to negotiate since August 2017 unless the union agrees in advance to the administration’s key reductions in existing standards.
“Our goal is to maintain high standards for teaching and learning at CCP,” Jones added.
The Faculty and Staff Federation of CCP will hold an action to protest the lack of negotiations at the next CCP Board Meeting, Thursday, Nov. 2 at 3:00 pm, outside the second-floor boardroom in the Mint Building at CCP.
October 27, 2017