Bargaining Update
This round of impacts bargaining is done! We obviously haven’t finished all COVID related issues. There will be more to do, especially around safety issues for specific in-person programs. But after a grueling summer, we won an agreement yesterday covering a wide range of issues. You came to open bargaining, showed your strength, and it made the difference.
Highlights include some real wins, most notably a class size minimum of 15 that will keep our classes open and accessible. But we didn’t get everything. Last year, we won a ground-breaking agreement to temporarily provide medical benefits to part-timers whose loads were reduced. We tried to get the District to extend this agreement for Fall 2021. They would not agree, because they could not identify funds for this very costly proposal. Benefits will return to the “normal” contract rules.
Here’s a summary of COVID impacts agreements.
Coming up soon:
With help lobbying from CCSF students, faculty and other locals like your union, CFT has fought and won new state funding, in the form of a larger COLA. This will bring roughly $6 million into CCSF. In our May agreement, we won the right to go back to the table over new funding. We don’t have a schedule yet for those negotiations. We’re working with CFT to get a firmer idea of the exact amount, and our team is talking about strategy and timing to get the most out of this opportunity.
Folks have also been asking about the $1.5 million coming in from the City. This is coming under the structure of WERF, which directs that money to specific things, largely restoring classes and services in basic skills, job training, and equity-focused areas. Use of the money isn’t flexible, so we won’t have much opportunity to negotiate over it.
You can find more details about funding in our July 14th post.
What you can do right now:
COVID isn’t over! There’s more work to do to ensure safety and decent working conditions. If you haven’t already, please fill out the AFT 2121 COVID impacts survey.
Part-time Employment Letters: Update
Last week, administration sent hard copy letters to part-time faculty, titled “Academic Contract for Temporary Employment”. The letters caused a lot of confusion. On Monday, we posted our initial message about these letters. Since then, we’ve been able to find out a little bit more.
Signature
The college has met their procedural goal by sending the letters to us. You can choose to sign, sign under protest or not sign;the District is not mandating they be returned and we don’t anticipate issues or consequences either way.
EDD
This letter won’t make a difference in our summer 2021 unemployment claims. We may want to change the way we answer the initial questions when we apply for unemployment. That’s a consideration for future semesters, not for right now.
TB Testing
This was just a form letter, with the same wording sent to everyone. There is no change in process – it does not mean that your TB test is due immediately. HR has been informing individuals when our tests are due and we do not expect any change in that.
Working in-person
The letter uses the phrase “report for duty”. That does not mean assignments are in-person. It’s still considered “reporting” even if you’re working online.
Terminating Employment
The letter says that the BOT can terminate our assignments. That’s true, but only subject to our contract. The rules about class cuts, seniority, and assignments rights have not changed. This letter does not change our policies or our contractual rights.
Period of Service
The letter says the first paid service day is August 16th. This is incorrect. The first day of paid service for most of us is August 12th, flex day.
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