To our Community Allies, Local Leaders, and City College Community Members,
We’re sorry to have to share with you that we have uncovered Management Fraud here at our college. We did not, initially, want to believe what our investigations had uncovered. But here are the facts.
There is clear evidence that Chancellor Martin and the District have engaged in what is technically referred to as Management Fraud, or “the deliberate material misstatement of financial statements by top management” (see more). Martin recently fabricated a budget policy document by inserting information he received in 2023 into a 2020 Board report. This created the impression that recent, unprecedented transfers from the General Fund were rooted in long-standing policy. They were not.
Because of this evidence, AFT 2121 has filed yet another Unfair Labor Practice against the District for misrepresenting financial information. See the evidence and the Unfair Labor Practice here.
Of course, AFT 2121 recognizes that tensions frequently run high in the midst of protracted contract negotiations. There are differences of opinion and direction, arguments over spreadsheets and budgets and what is possible or probable.
Unfortunately, evidence of Management Fraud is not just about a difference in priorities and what we believe. For instance, we believe that the college deserves a transparent and clear-eyed discussion of its budget and its priorities. We believe that students deserve access to quality programs and services. We believe that workers should not be unnecessarily or casually laid off in the middle of a pandemic.
That is not the point here. The point is the deliberate and unlawful misrepresentation of information. It’s what that means for the ongoing health of our college and its ability to make transparent, responsible, and honest decisions.
One result of this misdirection is that the College has put away as much as $10 million dollars in new state revenues (including unprecedented COLAs), so that is not accessible at the bargaining tables with employees who are currently suffering from record inflation (which the COLAs are meant, among other things, to address).
Nor is it available to add courses in much-needed areas with student demand, to ensure heat for our classrooms, or campus access to library and counseling services.
We want to be clear: AFT supports balancing financial stability with fulfilling our mission to students and the community. What we do not support is choosing to lay off faculty and staff and deny students access to educational opportunities in order to requisition extra funds beyond what the state requires and our Board of Trustees have approved.
How does this relate to what’s happening at the Bargaining Table between AFT 2121 and CCSF Administration?
In bargaining, AFT 2121 is asking the District to share the State’s cost of living adjustments (COLA) with faculty. This is a matter both of fairness and of ensuring key departments have the staffing needed to serve students. City College’s Nursing and Allied Health departments cannot continue to train the essential healthcare workers our city needs if they are not paying their faculty competitively.
From quality education to Free City, from multiple ULPs to negotiations, AFT 2121 is committed to ensuring City College leaders responsibly use our college resources to fulfill our mission as San Francisco’s largest and most accessible source of quality higher ed, quality jobs, and hope.
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