PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- More than 1,000 union faculty members at the Community College of Philadelphia have voted to go on strike. þþStudents are worried about it and hoping they can come to some sort of agreement before then. þþProfessor Marissa Johnson-Valenzula says as the voting was to get underway, ÿIt was definitely very tense in there, but in the end I think we're all very, very happy.ÿ þþA strike at Community College of Philadelphia could start as early as next week says AFT Local 2026 co-president Junior Brainard. þþÿWe're hoping we're gonna hear from the CCP administration, we are still willing and ready to negotiate but our members have spoken and they're ready and willing to be on the picket line,ÿ he added. þþUnion faculty and staff have been working without a contract since August 2016. They have been bickering over wages. þþÿPeople have been here working 30 years and they still qualify for food stamps, that's shameful,ÿ says Johnson-Valenzula. þþThe college administration says in a statement the wage increases the union seeks would increase the college's current cost by almost $83 million. CCP administrators also seek to increase the workload for new faculty from the current 24 credit hours to 30 which it says would bring full time faculty in line with peers nationally. þþBut Professor Johnson-Valenzula says, ÿOur students have already dealt with over worked teachers and under paid teachers and we don't want that.ÿ þþAmong the just over 27,000 students at CCP, there was much dismay over the strike vote by union faculty just as planning for the May 4 commencement festivities had begun. þþStudent Kendall Stephens says, ÿI'm hurt, I love the school, I love this campus and I was hoping that they can come to some sort of resolution.ÿ þþÿI think it's crazy,ÿ says student Jared Langley. ÿI'm not sure why they're going on strike, I mean it's pushing back graduations, it's pushing back a lot of stuff.ÿ þþStudent Government President Michael Luna blames politicians, who he says failed to properly provide financial support for the college. þþÿThis should be a learning environment not an environment where people are battling to fight for funding or even support. So I put accountability on all structuresÿ, says Luna. þþSo far, there are no signs that either side is willing to budge on their positions, but there's still a little time before faculty members could walk the picket.
Source: 6abc.com
