Leadership on Wages and Benefits: Good working conditions for faculty lead to good learning conditions for students. To this end, Nicky supported the Board’s adoption of COLA increases of 17% over the past two years. He also successfully advocated for the best-in-the-state pay-parity agreement for part-time faculty as well as Peralta’s adoption of full health benefits for part-time faculty. Nicky has served multiple terms of office on his own faculty labor union executive counsel where he co-founded and then co-directed the union’s student internship program for over a decade.

Classified Worker Support: Nicky voted to protect hard-won vacation hours for classified workers. He also supported the classified worker compensation study which promises to pave the way for improved wages for severely underpaid classified workers.

Project Labor Agreements: Nicky was a leader in Peralta’s adoption of a Project Labor Agreement with the Alameda County Building Trades Council to insure that Peralta’s local bond dollars support union-wage jobs. More recently, Nicky supported the adoption of a partnership agreement to increase the number of Peralta students who can graduate into union apprenticeship programs in the construction trades.

Retirees: Nicky relentlessly pushed the administration to honor district commitments to vital life-time health care benefits for retired Peralta employees.

Minimum Wage Support: Nicky served on the steering committee of the successful S. Bay minimum wage campaign, co-founded Raise the Wage East Bay (leading to Berkeley min wage increase), and insured that Peralta complies with local minimum wage laws.