Howard Community College’s full-time faculty union has secured an inaugural three-year bargaining agreement with pay raises and enhanced job security.

The college’s board of trustees ratified the contract, which runs through June 30, 2028, in a special meeting Tuesday evening.

The faculty union on Friday ratified the agreement by a 124-2 vote, with 83% of members casting a ballot, according to Austin Kingston, an American Federation of Teachers union representative.

Like nonbargaining unit employees, the faculty union secured a 4% cost-of-living adjustment and a $3,500 stipend. The contract provides for improved working conditions and “standardizes processes” for professional development, faculty promotion and discipline, HCC said on Substack,

The contract also “codifies the longstanding terms of collaboration outlined in the HCC faculty handbook,” the college wrote.

The agreement ends 18 months of bargaining talks that often turned contentious. Last month, faculty members were joined by elected officials and AFT organizers at a rally to demand progress from the administration of HCC President Daria Willis over contract negotiations.

The college previously said base salaries of all full-time faculty and staff members had increased under Willis and the HCC board of trustees by more than 20%, thanks to annual cost-of-living adjustments. Former and current employees and students have complained about high staff turnover and a toxic work culture under Willis, which college officials have denied.

This month, college officials admitted to possible labor law violations in February, when security officers unlocked professors’ offices and removed pro-union posters from the windows, doors and walls. College security also broke up a union protest in a campus meeting last winter.