CNM and Central New Mexico Educators Union reach impasse in bargaining process

Central New Mexico Community College and the Central New Mexico Educators Union have reached an impasse in their bargaining process.

According to the union, the parties are scheduled to begin mediation with a federal mediator Thursday, after no agreement was reached by the end of August on either full or part time faculty contracts.

Union president Mark Love-Williams told KUNM in an email that the number one issue is workload for the full time faculty.

He said that since the beginning of the pandemic, educators have been expected to do things like maintain and upgrade online courses, ensure compliance with accessibility mandates and develop more new courses.

He said large segments of the full time faculty report working more than 60 hours a week to complete their duties, and that some people have left their jobs because of the workload.

Love-Williams also said that the part time faculty also face problems to include no guarantees that they will be included in scheduling from term to term, making it hard to create a liveable budget or even take on a second job.

The community college said in a statement that, “CNM considers the negotiation process with the faculty union to be ongoing and will continue to follow the confidentiality provisions required by the collective bargaining agreements.

The statement confirms plans for mediation and adds, “CNM is proud to have outstanding, dedicated faculty serving our students and will continue to negotiate in good-faith in an attempt to resolve the impasse quickly.”