Hands Off High Demand!
VP for Action and Advocacy Chuck Mueller spoke at the Board of Trustees meeting on October 16, 2025, about Dr. Singh’s refusal to follow the contract and give Edmonds College faculty the state-funded high-demand salary increases that are required by the Workforce Education Investment Act. The full text of Chuck Mueller’s statement can be found at the link, but in brief:
- The college administration has stated that they will not pay the high-demand salary enhancements that are due to many faculty in November.
- Dr. Singh claims the issue is being bargained, but the administration has not submitted one written proposal in nine weeks.
- Dr. Singh said that the SBCTC told him he is under no obligation to pay these high-demand salary enhancements, but the SBCTC has told the union that the administration must follow the contract, which includes the MOU regarding high-demand pay signed in April.
- Chuck asked the trustees to hold this administration accountable for not following the contract. He also asked how Dr. Singh would mend the broken relationship between his administration and the faculty.
Union president Scott Haddock made a statement following the public comment period. The full text of Scott’s report to the trustees can be found here, but a summary of what Scott said about the high-demand salary enhancements follows:
- The funding for high-demand has not materially changed. The college received the same amount of money from the state and it was given to them for the same purpose.
- Under RCW 41.56.140(1) and established Washington labor law, the college must maintain the status quo on wages and benefits during any bargaining process.
- The MOU signed on April, 25, 2025, remains in force. The college must comply with its contractual obligations.
Dr. Singh chose not to respond to these statements in any way during the public section of the BOT meeting. As such, we can only let the actions of his administration speak for themselves. Even though the administration was eager to begin a re-bargaining process for these high-demand payments a mere four months after the last negotiation, they do not seem as eager to complete this negotiation process. One must assume that, if they saw any urgency in completing this negotiation, they would have submitted any written proposal in the last nine weeks.
The union has been very clear with the administration and the Board of Trustees. Follow the contract! Hands off high demand!
When We Fight, We Win!
Here’s what you can do to help.
- Ask Dr. Singh (amit.singh@edmonds.edu) or VPI Kim Chapman (kim.chapman@edmonds.edu) why they want to keep that $680,000 reserved for high-demand payments for themselves.
- Visit the Union Table on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 - 11 am in the lobby of Mountlake Terrace Hall or Hazel Miller Hall, where you can…
- Get a button to show your support for faculty!
- Write a postcard to the administration to ask them to pay the full salary of our faculty!
- Get the latest updates on contract negotiations!
If you want to join the fight, contact our VP for Action and Advocacy, Chuck Mueller, at cmmuelle@gmail.com.