FVTC, Support Staff Build off of Respect
You might think it would be a struggle to get
professional development opportunities added to a contract. Especially
if your unit represents support staff.
 The new contract between Fox Valley Technical
College and the Educational Support Personnel Association is the
result of mutual trust and respect, say negotiators (left to right)
ESPA Past President Carol Radtke, ESPA President Vicki Sahr, FVTC
Vice President Susan May, ESPA Past President Nancy Bubolz, (second
row) FVTC Vice President Gerald Rickman and WESC UniServ Director
Roger Palek. |
But that isn’t the case at Fox Valley Technical
College in Appleton, where years of positive relationships and mutual
respect between administrators and staff have contributed to development
of a unique and forward-thinking contract.
“We need to invest in our people, and we
look at this as an investment, not an expense,” said Gerald Rickman,
FVTC vice president for administrative services.
It is that kind of attitude that led to contract
provisions that open up a wide range of new professional development opportunities
for support staff.
Staff may be reimbursed for up to 12 credit hours,
as long as they maintain a C grade or better. They can take courses through
any of a number of providers, including area colleges and universities.
They are reimbursed at standard University of Wisconsin rates. The courses
must relate to the staff member’s current assignment or to a job
he or she has a reasonable chance of achieving.
The course work is outlined in a professional
development plan written by the employee in concert with his or her supervisor.
Employees may pursue a college degree or simply
attend a daylong or evening seminar or workshop. The 270 support staff
jobs include such positions as secretaries, custodians and technicians,
so the types of opportunities they pursue are varied.
“The contract allows a great deal of flexibility
in terms of the extent to which this is pursued,” said Susan A. May,
vice president of instructional services and a member of the college’s
negotiating team.
The recently ratified three-year contract is retroactive
to July 1, 1999. The contract has not yet been distributed to staff, so
they have not had much of an opportunity to take advantage of the new
program. But leaders of the Educational Support Personnel Association
(ESPA) believe they will. ESPA Past President Nancy Bubolz said members
have been asking for these provisions increasingly in recent years.
College leaders were receptive because they recognize
that professional development benefits both the staff and the college,
she said.
Rickman, spokesperson for the college’s negotiations
team, said the professional development provisions can improve an employee’s
performance and morale and help the college retain good staff.
“And it’s the right thing to do,”
Rickman said. “You have to create opportunities for people.”
In addition, he said, FVTC is “modeling the
right behavior” by encouraging professional development of its staff,
just as it encourages Fox Valley businesses to support professional development
of their employees through courses offered by FVTC.
Both union and management agree the new program
is an outgrowth of a positive relationship between ESPA leaders and management.
“It’s a process we’ve been working
on over the last four contracts,” said ESPA Past President Carol
Radtke.
“I think the relationship was important,”
May said. “Only upon a solid working relationship is something like
this able to evolve in a contract. It is the result of mutual trust and
mutual support.
“We recognize that our support personnel
are major contributors to our institution’s success.”
Posted April 28, 2000