Nassau Community College faculty members are pleading with lawmakers to stop a raise in their health care premiums.

The union that represents the professors says that the college is raising premiums that could cost a member and their family as much as $5,000 a year.

"This is going to impose a huge sacrifice and hardship on our faculty, partially on our junior faculty," says union president Faren Siminoff.

Nassau Community College says the state raised insurance premiums and that under the faculty's previous contract, it has to be passed on until another contract is agreed upon.

The college's labor attorney told News 12 in a statement, "As soon as an agreement is reached, the obligation to pay this additional premium will cease and faculty will only pay any amount the parties negotiate."

County legislators say they don't have much influence with the college.

Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello says they cannot tell the college to do something or not to do something when it comes to collective bargaining.

Students at the college say they hope something will be done for the good of the school.

"Any college is only as strong as the people who teach there," says sophomore Ariel Silverman. "So, give the professors and by extension the students the best foundation on which to build their future dreams."

Both the faculty and the college say contract negotiations are ongoing.