Progress made in faculty contract negotiations
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With the end of Fall Semester on the horizon, negotiating teams for both TMCC-NFA and the College Administration continue to meet every Friday to hammer out a new contract that covers all rank-and-file teaching faculty, librarians, counselors, and administrative faculty. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30, 2026.
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The negotiations have already led to agreements on multiple topics, including:
- Regular adjustments to teaching wages for summer classes
- Improvements for initial placement on the salary schedule
- Faculty intellectual property rights
- Greater flexibility on personal days
On-going discussions are leading to progress on several other issues with agreements expected in the near future, such as:
- Administrative faculty recognition and workload
- Streamlining faculty evaluations
- Department chair and program leader duties and compensation
- Clarification of librarian and counselor duties and processes
- Mandatory attendance at college functions
- Strengthening faculty due process rights
Some topics, however, have led to disagreements that are proving more difficult to resolve, like salary placement for terminal degrees and faculty office reassignments.
The negotiating teams hope to complete their work by mid-March. A ratification vote is planned to conclude by early April in time to submit the proposal to the Board of Regents for approval at their June meeting. If all goes according to plan, the new contract will go into effect on July 1, 2026.
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TMCC-NFA will host luncheon meeting after kickoff to update faculty on negotiations
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Following the Administration's spring semester kickoff on January 13th, TMCC academic and administrative faculty are encouraged to join us for lunch and an update on the contract negotiations.
We'll be serving pizza, salad, and soft drinks. The forum/luncheon will begin at 12:30 in RDMT 256 and is open to all rank-and-file faculty, NFA members and non-members alike.
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TMCC settles lawsuit brought by Professor Lars Jensen
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According to This is Reno, TMCC has settled a lawsuit brought by Dr. Lars Jensen with a payout of $300k. The College made the settlement offer after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and found that TMCC administrators retaliated against him for exercising his constitutional rights by giving him a negative evaluation and trying to fire him.
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As part of the settlement, TMCC agreed to remove Jensen's negative evaluation and letters of reprimand from his personnel file, and to issue a college-wide statement acknowledging the institution's wrong-doing. The statement, which appears in the This is Reno article (free subscription required), had not been distributed college-wide by email as of the writing of this newsletter.
For his part, Jensen will take paid administrative leave starting on January 1st and retire from the college at the end of the Spring 2026 Semester. His precedent-setting lawsuit drew national attention and was widely supported by organizations such as the Nevada Faculty Alliance, the American Association of University Professors, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
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TMCC-NFA to host a January social for faculty
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All TMCC academic and administrative faculty are invited to blow off a little steam before classes resume at a fun-and-games party hosted by TMCC-NFA. Appetizers and the first two drinks are on us.
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5:30 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, January 22nd
South 40 Bar & Grill, 1445 S Meadows Pkwy, Reno
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Watch for us at Fall Kickoff
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Prior to President Alexander's college-wide address to kickoff Spring Semester on January 13th, TMCC-NFA will serve up some hot drinks for members in our new travel mugs outside Cafe Verde in the Student Center.
If you didn't grab a travel mug at the Fall Kickoff activities, drop by to pick one up and enjoy a drink. If you already have one, bring it with you. If you're not a member, but would like mug, well, we can take care of that, too.
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TMCC-NFA Officers
Jim New, President
Amy Cavanaugh, Secretary
Dan Hooper, Treasurer
Cheryl Cardoza, Past President
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