An agreement over a salary increase was made between the Faculty Association and the Foothill-De Anza Community College District last week.

The District Board of Trustees offered the faculty a 4 percent increase on their base pay, and a 1 percent one-time only lump sum.

If this settlement hadn’t been reached by Monday, Jan. 7, students might have noticed a drop in services rendered by faculty members, including fewer opportunities to add classes.

At the end of Fall quarter, faculty at De Anza and Foothill Colleges voted to participate in a work-to-contract action as a way to show their discontent over the District’s offer of a 4 percent salary increase. FA wanted 5 percent.

Over 500 faculty members responded to FA, with over 80 percent urging FA to hold out for a 5 percent increase.

According to FA President Faith Milonas, the cost of living in the bay area is the highest in the nation, and even a 5 percent request by FA is not up to par with the Bay Area COLA of 5.7 percent. She said that many faculty cannot “afford to accept” a 4 percent increase.

If the work-to-contract action hadcontinued into the Winter quarter, participating faculty members would have ceased volunteer activities, including advising student clubs, adding students to classes that already met minimum enrollment and writing letters of recommendation.

According to Milonas, the protest followed District guidelines and faculty members would have continued to provide all duties required by their contracts.

Vice President of Instruction Judy Miner said the administration’s greatest concern about the work-to-contract action was the possibility that students might be denied seats in classes with available space.

Milonas said turning students away from classes is one of the hardest things for a faculty member to do, but the goal of the protest was to “make visible” all of the voluntary activities that faculty participate in.

According to the December FA newsletter, the last faculty work-to-contract protest resulted in smaller classes, which provided better teaching and stronger learning environments for students.

Although larger classes may result in additional income from the State to the District, some faculty say that this money doesn’t make its way back to the instructors.

If there is money in the District budget at the end of the fiscal year, Milonas said that the FA will attempt to add the 1 percent additional increase to the base next year.

A work-to-contract protest is a legally protected job action used as a strategy against unfair management decisions.