AFT 2121 CALLS FOR STRIKE VOTE

Posted on February 24, 2016 by AFT 2121

At yesterday’s meeting the Delegate Assembly passed a resolution affirming the Executive Board and Negotiating Team’s call for a strike vote. The resolution will be presented to the Board of Trustee’s at their meeting this Thursday.

Now every level of AFT 2121 leadership, the Executive Board, the Delegate Assembly and the Negotiations Team have called on rank-and-file members to vote YES in a strike authorization vote to initiate a strike if the District fails to settle a fair contract. Our vote begins next week and runs from February 29 through March 8

We have waited through a year of negotiations. The time for waiting has ended and the time for action is now. Board of Trustees President Rafael Mandelman and the entire Board need to understand that the status quo of the last several years can not continue. They need to understand that there will be no more business as usual until we have a fair contract. We need every tool at our disposal, including the possibility of withholding our labor, to compel the District to deal fairly with us.

Rarely in the history of our local have we called for a strike vote but we are in extraordinary circumstances now. Our struggle is not just for a fair contract but for the future of City College, our students, and community. That is why the Associated Students’ voted unanimously to support our campaign for fair contract. We need a 15 student class size minimum to ensure that we maintain diverse courses offerings while enrollment recovers from the sudden decline induced by the reckless actions of the ACCJC. All faculty need to be paid a wage that reflects their dedication to quality education. And faculty teaching with arbitrarily low load factors need to be brought up to reflect the real value of the work they do.

The College has at least $65 million in reserve and contingency funds that could be used toward a fair contract! Board President Rafael Mandelman and the Board need to decide what their priorities are. Will they value faculty and students by investing now in the City College San Francisco deserves? Are they going invest in the future of San Francisco’s students by fully funding CCSF? Or do they plan to continue to pay faculty downsized salaries as they downsize our college?

United we have the power to struggle for a fair contract and the future of CCSF. The more of us who vote “YES” the louder our message will be to administration and the Board of Trustees: there can be no more business as usual until they get their priorities straight and settle a fair contract!

In Unity,

Tim Killikelly
President, AFT 2121

P.S. Please be sure to view the full list of voting times and locations.