for CCA during upcoming general election
Transcription
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 Tips on how to choose a financial planner CTAinvest.org can provide some guidance along the way Financial Planning Starts with You Financial planning is essential for anyone who wants to get by, get out of debt, save for the future or protect current income and assets. Nothing extravagant, just a secure financial future. And the earlier you start planning, the greater the benefits will be in the long run. A financial planner can help create a complete picture of your finances by drawing it all together – income; assets and liabilities; emergency savings; investments, property and other assets; your estimated CalSTRS or CalPERS benefit; your 403(b) or 457 plan balance; insurance policies; your will and other estate planning documents. A financial planner can work with you to uncover ways to save, invest, grow and protect your money. The resulting comprehensive financial plan can guide you through key financial decisions. It may cover the following areas: Investment portfolio – reviewing and rebalancing your investment strategy to ensure it fits your timeline, goals and risk tolerance. Retirement planning – determining if your retirement savings are on track and setting a strategy for tapping retirement assets when the time comes. Insurance – exploring your insurance needs by doing a total risk assessment. Estate planning – addressing needs for creating/updating a will and other estate planning documents, as well as tax liability, wealth conservation and transfer issues. How to Choose a Financial Planner Consider choosing a certified financial planner (CFP®). A CFP is licensed and regulated by the CFP Board. Consider pay structure. A financial planner working on commission may have incentive to sell investment products, whether they are the best choice for you or not. To avoid conflict of interest, choose a financial planner who charges a flat or hourly fee. Ask about code of ethics. Find out if a financial planner has taken a fiduciary oath, which means he or she promises to act in your best interests. To learn more about choosing a financial planning professional, download go to http://ctainvest.org/home/investing where you’ll find other articles, videos, tools and brochures. ,, Are you a dreamer, a doer, a procrastinator or a planner? Dreamers tend to have big goals for the future with few plans for making them happen. Doers are action-takers who focus on meeting today’s demands and may overlook big-picture planning or dreaming about the future. Procrastinators tend to put off everything – dreaming, doing and planning – until tomorrow. Planners love making lists and being prepared, but it takes dreaming and doing to give their plans real direction. So who needs a financial plan? They all do! And so do you. The best lowest price,, “When I was a new single mom, I had to get my own insurance and compared a lot of different insurance companies. 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For costs and further details of the coverage, including exclusions, any reductions or limitations and the terms under which the policy may be continued in force, please contact Standard Insurance Company at 800-522-0406 (TTY). Standard Insurance Company, 1100 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, OR 97204 GP 190-LTD/S399/CTA.3 SI 16054-CTAvol dc.CTA Orchid Final_BW.indd 1 2/29/12 2:56 PM 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 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PSP