The ACCCEA Unity Negotiations Team met with Board representative Joseph Rossi for the umpteenth time for negotiations December 5. Negotiations started at 11:30 and continued until 5:30. It ended because some of us left for a dinner celebrating Yechiel Lehavy’s thirty-five year career as Professor of Anthropology and Sociology here at ACCC. Over the years, Yechiel and I have spent thousands of hours together working on grievances, on committees, at conferences, and at the negotiating table. I think this is the first time in twenty-five years that he has not been involved in negotiations. Yechiel is a good friend and I miss his not negotiating with us this year. We thought very much alike and our personalities complemented each other. Agnes used to say we were “joined at the hip”. New employees have no idea how important he was in achieving the working conditions they now take for granted.

Negotiations Tuesday were “informal”. That means they took place in Joe’s office with Dom Nigro and a representative from the bargaining unit. I was very optimistic when I left that I could write a positive note about negotiations. It looked to me like Joe wanted to settle. I spoke with Penny tonight and she said that after I left, she went into Joe’s office and Joe took everything away that he had agreed to “informally”. The problem was that Support Staff would not agree to some of his demands. In other words, yesterday it was two steps forward and two steps back. We may, or may not, be making progress. It is not clear when this will end.

Negotiations will continue next Tuesday at 6:00 pm. The Faculty contract will be up first and then we will work on another contract if time permits.

Will Parsons, Coordinator for the ACCCEA Unity Negotiations Team