One year after a union neutrality pledge was proposed to the Santa Fe College administration, the bill is still sitting unsigned.
In September, the Alachua County Labor Coalition held a Santa Fe College Living Wage Campaign Kick Off meeting in an attempt to raise the hourly wages in Alachua County.
Full-time workers got their pay raised to $12 an hour, Timothy Tia, a member of the Alachua County Labor Coalition said. Hundreds of part-time workers did not receive the pay increase.
Santa Fe’s budget didn’t require large changes to raise pay for these workers, Tia said.
The coalition proposed a contract between the employer and their workers to support a union’s attempt to organize a workforce, ensuring Santa Fe President Jackson Sasser couldn’t interfere with union establishments using public funds, according to Alligator Archives.
“I think it would improve the lives of Santa Fe employees dramatically and improve retention and a number of issues on campus,” part-time/adjunct representative on the college senate Jason Fults said.
Florida’s minimum wage is $8.25 an hour, but $15.44 an hour is defined as the necessary living wage, according to the Florida Employment Law Handbook.
“One of the most important parts of labor management is some form of written agreement,” said Jeremiah Tattersall, lead organizer of the Alachua County Labor Coalition.
Tattersall and Fults said they believe that no employees were let go after participating in the meeting.
Santa Fe College couldn’t be reached for comment before deadline.
The main priorities are to make sure adjunct and part-time employees receive Social Security, a living wage and all necessary benefits, Fults said.
“It’s a great campus, and we can be doing even better,” Fults said.
Contact Dana Cassidy at dcassidy@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @danacassidy_
Pictured is the Santa Fe College clock tower.
