for CCA during upcoming general election

COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASSOCIATION
The Official Newspaper of The Community College Association/CTA-NEA
Volume 47, Number 4 • August 2012
It’s not ‘business as usual’ for CCA
during upcoming general election
Faculty to bring campaign to campuses statewide
AC TI V I SM
For the first time ever, CCA is organizing its own campaign for the November election with the anticipated participation of faculty
on campuses around the state.
“With so much at stake, we want to make sure
this campaign is carried to our community colleges,” said CCA President Ron Norton Reel.
“We want to engage both faculty and our adultaged students.”
and rejuvenation, but this summer is different,”
Reel said. “We are faced with the most serious
challenge to our professional lives and to our
students’ welfare that we have ever had. The
elimination of class sections and student fee
increases have been bad over the last few years,
but they will be disastrous if the Governor’s
funding initiative does not pass.”
Voter registration
CCA will also join CTA and a coalition of labor
and community groups to defeat “Prop. 32, the
Stop Special Exemptions Act,” heavily financed
by a group of Orange County millionaires and
corporate interests, the initiative is a deceptive
attempt to silence the voices of teachers, nurses,
firefighters and ultimately, the Middle Class, by
eliminating the use of payroll deductions for
unions and corporations. However, the only
groups that will be curtailed are unions and the
Middle Class they represent, since corporations
largely fund their causes through their profits.
Since corporations already outspend unions 15
to 1 on politics, the initiative tilts the scales of
power even more toward the top 1 percent
“What Prop. 32 will do is effectively prevent
With new and younger voters having made
a difference in the 2008 presidential campaign,
CCA plans to focus on voter registration of students on its campuses.
“It really is a no brainer,” said Vice President
Lynette Nyaggah. “Unlike our K-12 colleagues,
our students are mostly over 18. Hopefully, having voter registration tables on campus will help
get them involved in the November election.”
Under the CCA plan, each chapter will be
asked to choose four or more members to work
on the campaign locally, with each designing
its own campaign during training sessions held
this summer.
“We know that usually summer is for rest
Deceptive initiative
educators from using their political voice to
protect students and improve our community
colleges. It will erode our ability to advocate for
our profession, and is possibly the first step to
eliminate collective bargaining.”
CCA/CTA will be curtailed from being
a strong advocate for increasing funding for
schools and colleges, preserving adequate
salaries and secure retirement plans, and even
taking a stand on local school board races and
ballot measures.
“The passage of this initiative will erode our
ability to advocate for our students and our profession. Really, what we are talking about is the
future of public education,” Reel said.
The initiative has already been defeated twice
before by California voters and is destined to be
defeated again, once voters understand what it’s
about, according to Reel.
“Union members already have the right to opt
out of having their dues money spent for political contributions,” Reel said. “This proposition
attempts to fix something that doesn’t need fixing in order to hide its real agenda — to keep
educators and unions from speaking out.”
Even ‘no tax’ Republicans see the importance
of Prop. 30 funding initiative to education
Measure is expected to generate $9 billion for schools and colleges
Bradley Reynolds is a lifelong Republican, but come November, he will part ways with
his political party and cast his vote for Proposition 30, an initiative that will raise taxes on the
wealthy in California and implement a sales tax.
The way Reynolds, a history professor at College of the Canyons and CSU Northridge sees it,
there really isn’t any other choice.
Students hurt
“My personal interest is with the colleges, and
I see students being hurt by budget cuts. Courses
have been cut, the size
of classes has increased,
and they won’t let professors add students
to a class, even if they
wanted to. There are
a lot of students out
there who can’t finish
community college in
two years or CSU in
Brad Reynolds
four years because they can’t get the classes they
expected to generate about $9 billion a year. And
need. I think it’s terrible that our students can’t
if the initiative fails, public education faces an
afford college
additional $5 billion in budget
and that they
cuts next year, including $300
I believe that if there is any place
are going into
million from the California
the government should play a
debt to get an
Community College system’s
role, it’s in providing education,
education,”
budget of $3.7 billion. In addihe says.
because education is the basis of tion, money expected to come
For those
in from the dissolution of state
our democracy.
reasons, Reynredevelopment agencies is not
olds will work
likely to arrive this year.
to pass Prop. 30, the Schools and Local Public
Initiative is well-crafted
Safety Protection Act of 2012, and he hopes his
As a Republican, Reynolds would like to see less
colleagues at community colleges around the
government and less taxes, but he maintains the
state will join the campaign as well.
governor’s initiative is well-crafted in a way of
CCA and CTA were both early supporters of
providing minimum taxation.
the initiative. Initially put forward by Gov. Jerry
“I believe that if there is any place the govBrown, the proposition will temporarily increase
ernment should play a role, it’s in providing
income taxes on high-wage earners while adding
education, because education is the basis of our
a ¼ cent increase to the state sales tax. The sales
democracy,” he said.
tax hike expires in four years. The income tax
increases expire in seven years.The measure is
MAKI NG A D I F F E R E N C E
Just because you don’t take
an interest in politics…
doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you
SPEAKING OUT
By Ron Norton Reel, CCA President
When I entered the teaching profession
some 36 years ago, there was nothing more that
I wanted to do than teach. I had been so inspired
by my own teachers and college professors over
the years, that I couldn’t imagine anything greater
than to attempt to help young students achieve
their own dreams.
My calling was to teach at the community college level, and so I began my career at Bakersfield
College. Since then I have taught at Georgetown,
Pasadena College, Cal Poly, and Mt. San Antonio
College where it was my goal to help students
discover their voice through speech and communications classes and on the forensics team. It was
a privilege to be able to do so. Over the years, I’ve
seen so many of my students go on to successful
careers and lives, and I still can’t conceive of a better profession.
Teaching obstacles
Yet, I’ve learned over the years that there have
been obstacles that we in the teaching profession
have had to overcome in order to do our best
work. Much of it had to do with our working conditions, which we all know, are our students’ learning conditions. And so, I became more involved
with the Mt. SAC Faculty Association, which
fought for department chair reassigned time and
stipends, and part-time rehire rights. I stepped out
of my comfort level in the classroom to become
involved in politics.
Because of our active participation in our association, Mt. SAC was able to recruit and retain
excellent faculty. Over the years, the Mt. SAC Faculty Association has taken the lead on improving
safety on campus by working with management
on crises plans. We created our own PAC and we
helped elect faculty-friendly board members who
recruited administrators that have become partners, rather than adversaries.
None of that would have happened without our
faculty becoming involved in politics. At Mt. SAC,
we learned the wisdom behind the words of Greek
statesman Peracles: “Just because you don’t take an
interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take
an interest in you.”
Statewide achievements
That involvement on the local chapter level propelled
me to become more involved with the Community
College Association, where I’ve gained a statewide
perspective on the needs of our colleges. With the
powerful CTA behind us, we achieved many more
successes. Some of those include:
Helping to pass three major statewide schools
and college facilities bonds bringing $3 billion
in construction funds to colleges.
Sponsoring AB 420 that provided office hours,
re-employment, health benefits, and equal pay
to part-time faculty.
Successfully fighting Gov. Schwarzenegger’s
attempt to eliminate Defined Benefit retirement
program and improved enhancements to our
retirement plans.
Fighting attacks on tenure from Board of
Governors.
Sponsoring legislation that requires 75 percent
of classes be taught by full-time faculty.
Sponsoring legislation calling for random
audits of districts to make sure they follow the
50 percent law.
And that’s for starters. Our efforts continue on
a daily basis. I can tell you, none of these achievements would have happened without CCA and
CTA working on
behalf of faculty. But
CCA/CTA is only as
strong as its membership. We need to keep
CCA strong.
That’s why you
need to know that
there is an initiative
on the November balRon Norton Reel
lot that will silence
our voice in advocating for our profession and the students we serve.
Prop. 32, the “Stop Special Exemptions Act” as
CTA calls it, would prohibit CCA/CTA from using
union membership dues for political purposes,
such as electing faculty-friendly boards of trustees,
or supporting funding initiatives to bring more
resources into our classrooms – another proposal
that is on the ballot.
CCA/CTA is only as strong as its
membership. We need to keep
CCA strong.
The initiative purports to prevent corporations
from the same thing, but corporate interests don’t
use payroll deductions, they use their profits in
order to have their way. And, since corporations
already outspend unions at a margin of 15 to 1,
this would really only have an impact on unions
and their ability to advocate for the middle class in
this country.
Although the initiative specifically goes after
our political donations, it would eventually erode
our ability to work on behalf of our members in
the state Capitol and at our local bargaining tables.
We’ve come too far to go back to the days before
we were able to collectively bargain contracts, and
make no mistake, that is where this is leading.
CCA will be working with chapter leaders over
the summer on local campaign plans to register our students to vote. Please take the time to
leaf through this Advocate to find out about the
upcoming election and what you can do.
As always, have a restful summer and save some
energy for the fall campaign.
CCA Calendar of Events
CCA Fall Conference
Oct. 12-14, 2012
Wyndham, San Jose
2
CCA Winter Conference
Feb. 1-3, 2013
Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa
Spring Conference and WHO Awards
April 26-28
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego
Contact 650/577-5184 CTA Regional Resource Center (CCA)
CCA Advocateor register
A U G Uonline
S T 2 0at1www.CCA4me.org.
2
The Community College Association exists
to protect and promote the well-being of
its members through collective bargaining, lobbying and representation activities,
thereby advancing universal and quality
public education.
It is an affiliate of the California
Teachers Association and the National
Education Association.
Community College Association
(916) 288-4921
EDITOR — Dina Martin
(650) 552-5491
CCA OFFICERS
Ron Norton Reel, President
Mt. San Antonio College
[email protected]
Lynette Nyaggah, Vice President
Rio Hondo College
[email protected]
DeWayne Sheaffer, Secretary
Long Beach City College
[email protected]
Jim Weir, Treasurer
Sierra College
[email protected]
CCA Staff
Robin Devitt (Santa Fe Springs)
Alan Frey (Sacramento)
Diana Lisi (Foster City)
Marianne Reynolds (Orange)
CCA Community College Consultants
Lindah Martin
Bonita Lovell
Associate Staff
Advocate Staff
Susan Sanz
Publications Support Specialist
The CCA Advocate is published by the Community College Association and the Communications Department of the California
Teachers Association, 1705 Murchinson
Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010, (650) 697-1400.
Publication of advertising in CCA Advocate
does not indicate CCA or CTA approval of the
advertised product or any of the companies
who purchase advertising.
The CCA Advocate is also available online
at the CCA Web site: www.cca4me.org
OUR LAB O R HI STO RY
CCA Book Club debuts with provocative
discussion of American labor history
Author Philip Dray chosen as guest speaker for fall conference
CONFERENCES
By Michael Smith, CCA Communications Director
Our spring CCA Conference featured
a new kind of session: The CCA Book Club.
The activity spurred much-needed open, professional dialogue between members about who we
are, as an association, and what we want to be.
Strengthening our culture
Our purpose was not to make decisions on the
spot, and not to draw up policy statements.
Not to draft legislation on the spot, and not to
sketch flow charts. And certainly not to cobble
together slogans or logos. The purpose of The
CCA Book Club is definitely not to encourage
“quick fix” scenarios. Instead, we want to reconnect, remind, rediscover, and strengthen CCA at
every level by progressively strengthening our
own culture, beginning with our chapters. The
spring session was our first step.
The debut of the CCA Book Club was hosted
by two insightful history professors from CCA
ranks, Ed Gomez of San Bernardino Valley
College and Dorothy Reina of Riverside Community College, who were spectacular, as well
as CCA Communication Committee members
Elizabeth Maloney and me, with CCA Vice President Lynette Nyaggah also in attendance.
Discussion was not herded or guided by leadership. Rather, it was sparked and developed by
rank-and-file members who had read some or
all of independent historian Philip Dray’s There
Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor
in America (Doubleday, 2010). Dray’s book
tells, like no other, the entire brilliant, moving, tragic, uplifting, and open-ended story of
workers in America—their unions and associations, their heroes and villains, their joys and
defeats. It’s our American history. And it’s
a living history.
It was an important moment for CCA.
Guest speaker in the fall
We believe the best way to help
ourselves become better educators
and better members is a deeper
understanding of our problems and
the possible solutions.
And there will be more. Your CCA Communications Committee has worked with the CCA Officers and Board, as well as with CTA, and we are
thrilled to announce Philip Dray will be a guest
speaker at the CCA Fall Conference. What’s
more, he’ll participate in a Q & A afterwards.
I don’t need to catalog the contemporary
forces pushing against us, both as educators and
as CCA members. We live the daily truth of
it in classrooms, meetings, and conversations,
often saturated by ignorant media or adversarial
talking points. We look at Wisconsin, and we
know we’re talking about survival.
We believe the best way to help ourselves
become better educators and better members is
a deeper understanding of our problems and the
possible solutions. And we believe the path for-
ward must be determined collectively.
We must be informed and intelligent in our
actions, for that is our professional charge;
therefore, we propose to read about the history
of and connections between American unions
and the American middle class. We intend to
talk about these stories, to weave our own stories into this honorable American tapestry, and
from these discussions contribute to the success
of not only CCA, but of public higher education
in California.
Indeed, the debut of the CCA Book Club
was a lively exchange of ideas between working
friends. Every CCA member left the room energized and smiling. That’s exactly what I hope
our collective future looks like.
Note: Suggestions for next year’s American unionthemed book are most welcome. Please send them
to me at [email protected].
A look back at milestones in CCA history
From meet and confer to collective bargaining
The following is a passage from CCA
History Makers: The Story of CCA Told by CCA
Leaders, by former CCA President Carolyn
Inmon. The publication is a compilation of
interviews with previous CCA presidents and
CTA staff that support the organization. History
Makers is available for downloading on the CCA
website, at www.cca4me.org.
MILESTONE: Meet and Confer
In 1964, Senator Winton was successful in passing legislation allowing “meet and confer.” Under
meet and confer, leaders dealt with non-bargaining issues such as insurance. Staff member Ed
Romeo described them as “teachers clubs.”
There were no meaningful discussions of
salary, working conditions or grievance procedures. Administrators, as well as faculty, were
members of the chapters for 11 years from
1964—1974. The organizations were referred to
as associations, never unions.
In 1968, the statewide Board of Governors
(BOG) was created but granted limited powers.
The BOG and the Chancellor were allowed to:
Monitor the fiscal health of all campuses.
Set statewide policies.
Carry out a variety of coordinating activities.
In the early years, Southern California was
growing rapidly. In the early 1970s, junior college faculty were primarily from K-12. These
teachers were used to K-12 and CTA and fine
with the structure.
Presidents during that time inched towards collective bargaining and political action. They helped
to clarify the organizational
structure including the relationship between CTA and NEA.
MILESTONE: The Rodda
Act Changed Everything
Named for state Sen. Albert
Stanley Rodda, (a history and
economics professor at Sacramento City College turned
legislator), the Rodda Act was
passed by the Legislature and
signed into law in 1974 by Gov.
Jerry Brown. The Rodda
Act established:
Collective bargaining
for K-14 on salary and
working conditions.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the collective bargaining act during his first term as
The failures of the Winton
governor in 1974.
Act led to the Rodda Act.
In the words of Ed Romeo,
“The essential part of the Rodda Act was that
Eager and prepared to adopt collective bargaining.
it put teachers on an equal basis with the
Unsure about collective bargaining – orgaBoard of Trustees. Instead of meet and confer,
nizers went in and organized.
it was now meet and negotiate.”
Did not want to organize – the overwhelming
Public Employment Relations Board
majority of faculty fell into this category.
(PERB)
Written Contracts which were binding
It was the job of leaders to convince faculty
and enforceable.
that their professionalism was not at stake as
Boards had to submit to arbitration.
they joined the union and that everyone needed
to join to have maximum power.
Internally, in both CCA and CTA, there was
a conflict over collective bargaining. CTA was
reorganizing. Community college faculty fell into
three groups:
AUGUST 2012
CCA Advocate
3
C C A I N TH E C A P I TO L
CCA testifies on Student Success Act
Concerns about funding have not been addressed
LEGISLATION
Legislation to put the Student Success Act
of 2012 has moved closer to becoming law, but
not without the strong opposition of the Community College Association, which continues to
point out that the bill does not provide the funding to produce student success nor does it even
contain the definition of student success itself.
Responding to the suggestions of numerous
community college faculty and student organizations, state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach)
amended SB 1456 enough to pass through the
Assembly Higher Education Committee in midJune. Although the changes persuaded some
organizations to change their previous opposition to support of the bill, the amendments did
not meet the concerns of CCA leaders.
CCA President Ron Norton Reel told the committee that although the bill mandates that each
student meet with a counselor to establish
a course of action or education plan, it doesn’t
provide the funds to hire the counselors needed.
“There’s no mandate to hire any additional counselors. In order to get a student-counselor ratio
down to 1:1000 students, we’d have to hire 1,900
more full-time counselors. If you want that down
to 1:500, we’d have to hire 2,800 counselors.”
Reel also testified, “There is no student success
definition in this bill, not only is there no definition, there is no strategy provided for measuring
student success of a community college student.”
CCA has been concerned about inequities in
the legislation as well. Students who have been
educated on how to get through the system
will have an easier time than students who are
more disadvantaged.
Reel appealed to the committee to wait until
resources are provided before passing the bill.
Those objections will now be carried to the
Appropriations Committee.
Reel was joined by a number of community
college leaders, including CCA Vice President
Lynette Nyaggah, Secretary De Wayne Sheaffer, Cypress College economics professor Fola
Odebunmi and Citrus College business professor
John Fincher. Several other professors and students voiced their opposition to the bill.
Summary of current community college bills
Bill Number
Author
AB 852
Fong (D-22)
John Pérez (D)
Description
Due process for part-time faculty.
Appropriates $150 million to the newly established Middle Class
Scholarship Fund for students enrolled in their respecting segments
whose annual household income does not exceed $150,000.
Position
Action
Support
SEN APPRO
Watch
ASM APPROP
AB 1741
Fong (D-22)
Requires the California Community College’s Board of Governors to
revise their Comprehensive Accountability System to include regional
work force needs and student participation in career readiness programs
and to define and measure the ratio of full-time to part-time faculty and
student access to faculty office hours.
Support
WITHDRAWN
BY SPONSORS
AB 1826
Hernandez, R.
(D-57)
Prohibits community college full-time faculty from teaching assignments
that include more than 50% overload.
Watch
ASM APPROP
AB 2171
Fong (D-22)
Authorizes local community college governing boards to either deny
enrollment, permit enrollment or permit conditional enrollment to
students expelled from a community college within the preceding 5
years if the board determines the student continues to pose a risk to
the safety of others.
Watch
SEN APPRO
SB 1052
Steinberg (D-6)
Establishes the California Open Education Resources Council; requires
the Council to identify the 50 most widely taken lower division courses;
approve developed open source materials; promote strategies for
production, access, and the use of open source textbooks; and requires
textbook publishers to place 3 copies of each approved textbook on
reserve at campus libraries.
Support
ASM APPROP
SB 1053
Steinberg (D-6)
Expresses legislative intent to establish the California Digital Open
Source Library for the purposes of housing open source materials to
provide a web-based way for students, faculty, and staff to find, adopt,
utilize, or modify course materials.
Support
ASM
H ED
SB 1062
Liu (D)
Changes the process for hiring Vice Chancellors
Oppose
ASM
FLOOR
Watch
ASM
ED
Support
SEN
ED
FAILED
DEADLINE
Watch
ASM
H ED
Steinberg (D-6)
Recasts, revises, and extends the existing California Community
Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program set to be
repealed on January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2018 with a revised program.
SB 1153
Calderon (D-30)
SB 1402
Lieu (D-28)
SB 1456
Lowenthal (D)
Implements aspects of Student Success Recommendations
Oppose
ASM
APPROP
SB 1550
Wright (D-25)
Extends authorization to local community college districts to establish
and maintain extension credit courses, and if it offers career technical
education credit courses and workforce development courses, to be
self- supporting and open to the public.
Oppose
ASM
H ED
FAILED
PASSAGE
Extends from 6 semester terms or 9 quarter terms of enrollment to 8
semester terms or 12 quarter terms of enrollment, the length of time
a student is eligible for Extended Opportunity Programs or Services.
Recasts, revises, and extends the existing California Community
Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program set to be
repealed on January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2018 with a revised program.
*This matrix does not include 2011 bills which died or were chaptered.
** A spot bill is a place holder with very general language. CCA takes a position when the bill language is amended into the bill.
4
CCA Advocate A U G U S T 2 0 1 2
CAMPA I GN 20 1 2
Campaign resources you can use
For the latest on our campaign…
THE PROPOSITIONS
Need to find out about the November
election and how ballot initiatives will affect you?
Looking for ways to get involved in the campaign?
Interested in using social media to reach out to
voters? For the latest news, resources, videos,
activities and actions check out:
VISIT THESE WEBSITES
www.cta.org/campaign2012
www.stopspecialexemptions.org
www.protectschoolsandpublicsafety.com
www.educationvotes.nea.org
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
FACEBOOK California Teachers Association
Stop Special Exemptions
Twitter @CATeachersAssoc
& @StopExemptions
TEXT POWERGRAB to 69866
REGISTER TO VOTE
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_
vr.htm
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C C A I N AC TI O N
What’s it take to be on the bargaining team?
CCA chief negotiators reveal challenges and achievements
UP FRONT AND PERSONAL
As the saying goes, “when the union calls, you haul” and that’s what these chief negotiators do. All stalwart CCA members,
chief negotiators spend hours on the job even before they get to the bargaining table. It’s tough work but it has it rewards.
Bruce Langford
Citrus College Faculty Association
Jim McBride
San Joaquin Delta College
Teachers Association
Years on the Bargaining Team 3½
Years on the Bargaining Team At least 8 years.
Time spent before negotiations begin? The team usually meets at least an hour a week
before we go into a session with the District. But we met, off and on, for a couple of
months before we even started formal negotiations. We aim to have a fairly good idea of
where we want to wind up before we go in the room.
Time spent before negotiations begin? I’d say around 50 hours. We aim to have a fairly
good idea of where we want to wind up before we go in the room.
Major issues on the table or highlights you’ve achieved? Probably the most significant
achievement, especially in this economic climate, was a 2% raise for a minimum of one
year as well as maintaining our current benefits package.
What is the best thing local members can do to support their bargaining team?
Honestly, the biggest up-hill battle is usually APATHY. I’m surprised that more members
don’t take an active interest in things that have such a direct effect on their working lives,
income, and retirement.
Major issues on the table or highlights you’ve achieved? We gained a 3.46 percent
pay increase, 1.73 for this year and 1.73 for next year; part time faculty will have a right to
an automatic interview for full-time jobs; we kept health benefits.
What is the best thing local members can do to support their bargaining team?
“Stay united behind the negotiating team.”
What do you get out of this role? “I like sticking it to the administration. I feel that
faculty have rights and you only get what you bargained for.”
What do you get out of this role? The pleasure of solving problems for faculty! In my
position I have developed a fairly good idea of WHO can solve a problem and HOW to
interact with them to best insure a positive result. So when a faculty member calls with an
issue they can’t resolve, and I am able to make that problem go away, and they call to say
“thank you so much for helping me,” well….that’s about the best day I can have!
Lisa Ellis
Victor Valley College
Faculty Association
Years on the Bargaining Team 10
Karen Roberts
Long Beach City College Certificated
Hourly Instructors (CHI)
Time spent before negotiations begin? We usually meet at the start of each semester
to strategize and set goals, and then we meet before each bargaining session for 30 to 60
minutes to update our plan and discuss district proposals. We previously negotiated 100%
district paid health benefits,which offer faculty a choice of two HMOs or a POS. Although,
this was a district reopener this year, we were able to maintain the status quo in this area.
Major issues on the table or highlights you’ve achieved? We recently signed a MOU
regarding Student Learning Outcome Assessments to make sure faculty are paid for work
related to SLO assessments, and that SLOs are not part of faculty evaluation.
Years on the Bargaining Team 2
Time spent before negotiations begin? A lot! Since I was new to bargaining, I read
(more than once) the Ed Code, especially the sections that applied to the issues on the
table. I also read other Community College faculty contracts to get a sense of what other
part-time bargaining units had achieved. In addition, I spent considerable time discussing
the bargaining process with our CCA Staff Consultant, Robin Devitt. Our bargaining team
made it a regular practice to be in communication with each other and to meet before
going into bargaining.
Major issues on the table or highlights you’ve achieved? We achieved some gains
in working conditions – making sure all part-time faculty had the same access to campus
resources and instructional equipment as full-time faculty, compensation for college flex
days, and stipends for service on committees. We were also able to clean up language to
clarify grievance procedures and part-time faculty evaluations.
What is the best thing local members can do to support their bargaining team?
Members can become more involved in the bargaining process by attending general
monthly meetings, reading the bargaining update in meeting minutes (which are are
posted on the website), answering yearly bargaining surveys, or sending emails to the
bargaining team regarding issues they deem important.
What do you get out of this role? It gives me and my team direct access to key
administrators (the college president often sits at the table), and allows us to build strong
relationships which help us to solve many problems before they go to grievance.
Wayne H. Preston
College of the Sequoias Teachers
Association (COSTA)
What is the best thing local members can do to support their bargaining team?
Speak up! Collective bargaining works best when there’s input from members. Surveying
the faculty can also help with this.
What do you get out of this role? The opportunity to advocate for part-time faculty,
including myself. Building relationships between members, especially on the bargaining
team. It is also advantageous to build a relationship with the district side of negotiations
and to learn their tactics.
Years on the Bargaining Team 26 consecutive years and counting.
Time spent before negotiations begin? Typically our negotiating committee would
invest at least 70 to 80 hours of research and preparation prior to meeting the district at
the table.
Major issues on the table or highlights you’ve achieved? Highlights that I feel our
association has achieved over the years include: competitive salaries, fully paid employee
benefits (now under attack) with equivalency protection, binding arbitration, scheduling
of classes by faculty (from a binding arbitration decision which had to be resolved by the
courts), and 14 days of sick leave per year.
What is the best thing local members can do to support
their bargaining team? Community college educators
are very diverse and quite independent. Getting members
to agree and support various proposals is a lot like herding
cats. The best thing that members can do is to stick
together. Solidarity is the best weapon that local units have
to combat overreaching districts.
What do you get out of this role? Friends. Friends are
indeed a very special product of serving members.
AUGUST 2012
CCA Advocate
California Teachers Association
1705 Murchison Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
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