Contract Ratification FAQs

At a special meeting held on September 5, 2017, The NCCFT Executive Board unanimously approved for contract ratification by the membership a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the college. A summary of the MOA was emailed to you earlier today and you will soon receive information from the union’s Election Committee about the ratification process. Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about that process:

1. What happens if we ratify the contract?
   • Once we ratify the contract, there are three more stages of ratification/approval it has to go through before it takes effect. The Board of Trustees has to ratify it; the county executive needs to sign off on it; and it must be approved by the county legislature.
2. When will the new contract take effect?
   • Once it has been ratified by all parties, the new contract becomes effective retroactive to September 1, 2017
3. Will our salary increases be retroactive to 9/1 and when and how will we get that money?
   • Yes, our salary increases will be retroactive to September 1st. Once ratification is complete, the NCCFT Treasurer will consult with the County Comptroller to determine when and how those monies will be paid out. The final decision on this is made by County Comptroller. You will be notified once that decision has been made.
4. Can we vote on specific items in the MOA?
   • No. You must vote yes or no on the total package.
5. Can we suggest changes to specific items in the MOA?
   • No. The parties have agreed to this MOA and no further changes can be made.
6. How do I know what changes are being made to the contract?
   • The italicized text in the MOA summary indicates which language in the contract has been changed. (If there is non-italicized text in the summary, that language should be the same as it is in the contract.) To examine the changes more closely, please compare the language in the MOA summary to the language of the contract, which you can find here.
7. If something is not mentioned in the MOA summary, does it stay the same as in the previous contract?
   • Yes. With the exception of minor changes and clarifications, anything not mentioned in the summary remains the same.
8. Why is my concern not represented in the MOA summary?
   • We brought to the negotiating table the major concerns of the membership as expressed through the survey we distributed. A negotiation, however, is a process of give and take and there are always concerns on each side that are not achieved. Rest assured we have a record of and are attentive to all member concerns and they will be considered for the next negotiation.
9. Why are we using Election Buddy to do this ratification vote?.
   • The NCCFT Elections Committee decided to use this method because it allows the most members to participate, even those who might not be able to attend an in-person ratification vote. The committee researched the security concerns surrounding electronic balloting and is satisfied that Election Buddy will serve our needs for now and well into the future. This level of security allows us to keep voting open for a longer period of time than we have ever done before. All told, you will have close to three full days to consider, discuss, debate and vote on the new contract.
   • Election Buddy, which we have used for officer elections in the past, is a tamper-proof electronic voting software platform that utilizes 256 bit encryption, the same used by ATM machines. The individual(s) who set up the election also load the email addresses of all eligible voters. A unique voter key is emailed to each of those individuals. Once the individual votes, that key is “spent” and can no longer be used. Everyone’s vote is completely confidential and cannot ever be seen.
10. How many votes do we need to ratify the contract?
    • 50% + 1 of the members who actually vote.
11. What happens if the contract is not ratified?
    • Everything contained in this MOA becomes null and void. The parties go back to the negotiating table and start from scratch.

If you have any further questions, we encourage you to attend the informational meeting mentioned at the top of this page. Before then, please contact your department representative.