New OCC faculty contract clears final hurdle

Instructors at Ocean County College will receive an aggregate 14.7-percent wage increase in the terms of a five-year contract approved by the Board of Trustees in Toms River this morning.

The pact, ratified October 28 by the Faculty Association of Ocean County College (FAOCC), includes a $1,000 stipend for all instructors who are members of FAOCC at the time of trustee approval, according to information issued by the college today.

Approval follows a lengthy and sometimes acrimonious path through negotiations.

The contract covers the period from September 1, 2014, thorugh August 31, 2019. It also includes a "mutual pledge," in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding by faculty and administration, to adhere to professional standards of conduct, according to OCC President Dr. John H. Larson.

"The College and the Faculty Association have implemented this pledge in order to establish a positive working relationship," Dr. Larson said in prepared comments. "We believe strongly that this pledge will benefit both parties in addition to our students and the Ocean County community."

George Buchanan, Advisor to the President of OCC, added, "The College administration and Faculty Association have been working together since 2010 to come up with a contract that is mutually beneficial.".