Negotiations update | Mediation begins | 90% membership goal | “No Business as Usual” message brought to BOT

Posted on February 2, 2016 by AFT 2121

Negotiations: Mediation to begin tomorrow

Our bargaining team will begin the process of Mediation with the District tomorrow. This semester we’ve sent a message to both Chancellor Lamb and the Board of Trustees: “No More Business as Usual” until they settle a fair faculty contract.

We urge the District to bargain in good faith and use its $57 million surplus to settle a fair contract. We challenge Chancellor Lamb and our Board of Trustees to show their positive vision for our college: direct the District’s team to end this process now rather than letting it drag on into Fact Finding after the Mediation process.

Keeping our union strong: Membership drive and goals

Currently, 81% of faculty at CCSF are union members, and everyone pays a “Fair Share” fee to cover the costs of representation and negotiations that our union incurs on their behalf. The Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association case in front of the Supreme Court now could make dues optional for all public employees even though they would still reap the benefits of union representation.

Last week our AFT 2121 Delegate Assembly set an organizing goal of reaching 90% membership by the end of this semester. Right now, most CCSF fee-payers do not know they are not full members. You can help by checking with your colleagues to make sure they have filled out a membership form and sharing this cute video explaining “Fair Share.”

Faculty take “No Business as Usual” message our CCSF Board; Students present resolution in solidarity with our fight for a fair contract

Nearly 100 faculty and student supporters packed the Board of Trustees meeting last Thursday evening, with over a dozen faculty members present to speak on the urgent need of the District to settle a fair contract with AFT 2121.

At first, the Board refused to let all of us in despite open seats. We chanted “let them in” until Rafael Mandelman conceded and opened the meeting to all of the public that came to participate in the democratic process of running the college.

During the meeting, student activists, initially barred from entry, burst out into the tune “Solidarity Forever” and presented a resolution from the Associated Students expressing solidarity with faculty and our struggle for a fair contract.

AFT 2121 faculty waited hours into the meeting in order to give public comment on our contract negotiations and how critical a fair resolution will be to the future of the college.

Our fight is about ensuring that the college invest now in maintaining access for students to the quality and affordable education that CCSF provides. For that we need to keep classes open and we need to pay faculty a fair wage. The Board can choose to make it’s legacy one that led the college out of the self-defeating logic of ACCJC-imposed austerity, or that sent it into a death spiral. We framed this choice for the Board, and made it clear that we will struggle united with students and community to save this college.

You can help build our union: Volunteer!

Our union is only as strong as member participation. Right now there are two big areas to focus on:

1) Help increase the number of members in our union. Right now, most CCSF fee-payers do not know they are not full members. You can help by checking with your colleagues to make sure they have filled out a membership form and sharing this cute video explaining “Fair Share.”

2) Help us enter the huge amounts of data we collected last semester through our organizing efforts into our database. By keeping track of our supporters among San Franciscans we can continue to engage them in important issues facing the college, such as proposed downsizing and our struggle for a fair contract. Whenever you are free to help out during regular business hours you can help us enter data, just call beforehand (415-585-2121) to make sure there is a list on hand for you to enter.