Led by a strong Bargaining Committee, faculty at Lincoln College of Technology negotiated one of their strongest union contracts in decades. SEIU Local 205 has represented Lincoln (formerly known as Nashville Auto Diesel College) staff since 2000 and their role is to educate and prepare students for a career path of their choice in the automotive repair industry.

“We are proud of the hard work that went into our new contract, we’re grateful for all the support and resources that Local 205 has to offer, and as a result, we are proud of the education we provide our students,” said Lyman Parsell, the union's chief steward.

The new agreement expires in 2020 and includes the following improvements:

• Wage increases totaling $2.15/hr over three years
• Company (not employees) pay for short term disability benefit
• $10,000 increase in life insurance coverage paid by company
• Improvements to grievance procedure
• More flexibility in using paid sick leave for doctor visits
• New 10x4 work schedule for Collision Department which gives flexibility to Lincoln but also protects employees’ rights
• New health insurance plan through a union trust fund starting in 2018. Good benefits with affordable rates with additional life insurance and vision benefit included. Set benefits for three years, instead of the company plan that could change every year. Only moderate increases in instructor contributions over the three years
• Stop company from eliminating the employer match on the 401k benefit