Title: An act relating to pay equity for part-time community and technical college faculty.

Brief Description: Requiring pay equity for community and technical college part-time faculty.

Sponsors: Representatives Sells, Dunn, Campbell, Kenney, Fromhold, Appleton, Ormsby, Ericks, Hasegawa, Williams, Moeller, Darneille, McCoy, Chase, Simpson, Miloscia, Schual-Berke, Quall, McCune and Santos.

Brief History:

Higher Education: 2/17/05, 3/1/05 [DPS].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 13 members: Representatives Kenney, Chair; Sells, Vice Chair; Cox, Ranking Minority Member; Rodne, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Buri, Dunn, Fromhold, Hasegawa, Jarrett, Ormsby, Priest, Roberts and Sommers.

Staff: Barbara McLain (786-7383).

Background:

In 1996, the Legislature directed the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to develop a 10-year plan and submit recommendations to address pay disparity among full and part-time college faculty. The SBCTC convened a Best Practices Task Force which submitted a report in the fall of 1996.

Among the topics discussed in the report was whether part-time faculty should be paid on a "pro rata" basis or a "parity" basis compared to full-time faculty. Pro rata assumes that part-time faculty have proportionally the same teaching, counseling, and administrative workloads as full-time faculty. A pro rata pay schedule would pay a half-time faculty at 50 percent of full-time. Parity pay assumes that part-time faculty do not always have the same non-teaching duties as full-time faculty, and could therefore be paid on a lower salary schedule.

The report recommended a combination of the two approaches, to be implemented over the next 10 years. At that time, the estimated cost to implement pay equity over the 10-year period was $15.8 million for each biennium. The Legislature has since provided additional funding to address part-time faculty pay, but these amounts have not equaled the requests by the SBCTC.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

In the 2005-07 biennial appropriations act and thereafter, the Legislature must appropriate sufficient funds for allocation to the community and technical colleges to implement and maintain 100 percent pro rata pay for part-time college faculty. Salary schedules are subject to local collective bargaining.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The Legislature provides sufficient funding to implement a pro rata pay policy, rather than a policy that includes both pro rata pay and pay on a parity basis. The bill is null and void unless funded in the budget.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed. However, the bill is null and void unless funded in the budget.

Testimony For: (In support of substitute bill) It is past time to send the message that part-time faculty should be paid equitably. Faculty representatives have been asking for targeted funding to address pay equity since 1998. At first the Legislature provided funding, but recent budgets have not been enough to keep pace, let alone close the gap. The fundamental principle at issue is equal pay for equal work. The bill is clear, fair, and unequivocal on that point. Some progress has been made in this direction, but not enough. Even in a good year, only one-third of the funding request has been granted. Closing the pay gap is the best way to deal with other issues such as the mix between part-time versus full-time faculty. This offers significant recognition of part-time faculty and their contributions to the education of students. Not all best practice issues are addressed in the bill, such as funding for increments, guarantee of a contract, or opportunity to teach a full-time course load.

(Concerns with substitute bill) The substitute bill should make it clearer that faculty should be paid on a 100 percent pro rata basis based on their teaching load.
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Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: (In support of substitute bill) Representative Sells, prime sponsor; Sandra Schroeder, American Federation of Teachers of Washington; Ruth Windhover, Washington Education Association; Jack Longmate and Dana Rush, Washington Part-Time Faculty Association; Vera Brankovan, Lynn Dodson and Annette Stofer, Seattle Community College Federation of Teachers; and Chris Reykdal and John Boesenberg, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

(Concerns with substitute bill) Keith Hoeller and Doug Collins, Washington Part-Time Faculty Association.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.