February/March 2015 AFT Local 1533 Newsletter THE FEDERALIST A Union of Professionals www.scftunion.org National Day Highlights Adjuncts’ Inequalities State Center Federation of Teachers The Importance of Organizing Or, if you would be well served, serve yourself A is for Adjunct: Adjunct instructor Dr. Janine Nkosi and her class show support for National Adjunct Walkout Day on Feb. 25 at Clovis Community College Center. SCFT helped SCCCD faculty, staff, and students participate in National Adjunct Walkout Day (NAWD), held on February 25. The movement was created to bring awareness to unfair wages and working conditions for adjunct instructors across the country. SCFT displayed information booths at five campus/site locations in the district. Each SCFT table was staffed with members of Executive Council and displayed educational material. “A for Adjunct” buttons were handed out, and all faculty were encouraged to have mini teach-ins focusing on adjunct teaching with their classes and to post their participation on the SCFT Facebook page. The event was a success. “This is the part where I Kellen Prandini, SCFT PT Representative At-Large should fess up that I’m the one who asked the union what we were planning to do to tie into this nationwide (FCC) and anthropology instructor proudly (eventually international) event, and therefore inaddisplays his “A is for vertently volunteered to help organize it, so I’m a bit Adjunct” button. biased,” said Jim Keller, SCFT PT Representative At-Large (CCCC) (See pictured on page 3). “I think we did wonders to raise awareness. Most of my students had no idea what an adjunct faculty member is, much less the plight facing adjuncts across the country. The simple act of getting faculty to wear their scarlet letters and talk about it with their students was a huge victory in my book. But the nicest part of the whole day for me? Getting two senior administrators on my NAWD continued on page 3 As a California Federation of Teachers (CFT) Field Representative, I have ingested the Kool-Aid in regard to the importance of organizing, the importance of Unionism, and the crucial nature of collective bargaining. I can think of nothing more important than employees standing together to accomplish better working conditions for themselves and better wages for their families. Organizing is multi-faceted and permeates most of what we do in the Union movement and even in our personal lives. Organizing at its most basic level is the act of developing a vision and system of beliefs, Organizing continued on page 4 IN THIS ISSUE Upcoming Events Calendar page 2 January Soup Winner page 2 Part-Time Meet ‘N Greet page 5 Election Results page 6 2 SCFT News January was National Soup Month Mark Your Calendars GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: Wednesday, March 25 5 - 7 p.m. FCC Staff Dining Room UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS: Save the Date: Friday, May 8 (A workshop for part-time faculty on how best to apply for these benefits) The Federalist is the official publication of the State Center Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1533 567 W. Shaw Ave. Suite A3 Fresno, CA 93704 (559) 289-2699 scftunion.org We have a winner!!! As you may or may not remember, January was National Soup Month. Kathleen Crawford, history instructor extraordinaire, as I like to call her, won our delicious soup goodies for submitting her non-district email address to me as a part of our going green efforts…which we’re still working on! As you can see, the basket of soup quickly became the treasure box of soup which contained four (4) Bear Creek Soups, four (4) different kinds of crackers, two (2) red soup mugs with lids, matching napkins, and of course, chocolate covered gold coins (it is a treasure box after all!). Soup and SCFT: Kathleen Crawford, FCC history When I met with Kathleen to instructor, and her treasure of soups prize. deliver her box, she was genuinely grateful. If you don’t know Kathleen, I highly recommend that you drop by to meet her as she has been teaching for 30 years and continues to LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. Her first 10 years were as a part-time instructor in the district and therefore fully understands the struggle that many of our adjunct faculty face. The last 16 years have been fulltime at FCC, and she says, that “This is a great place to work.” Please join me in congratulating Kathleen on her soup win! And, we WILL eventually go paperless, so PLEASE continue to submit your non-district email addresses to me at [email protected]. - Michelle Pannett, SCFT ED/O Printing of The Federalist WILL be phased out. SCFT is GOING GREEN (REALLY!), and you don’t want to miss out on updates, news, and contests. Please send us your NON-District email address today! ([email protected]). Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/SCFTLocal-1533/271061679646258, and visit the website at scftunion.org frequently to stay informed and to read the latest issues of The Federalist. SCFT News 3 SCFT PT Representative At-Large Jim Keller educates a class on the disparities between part-time and full-time working conditions at Clovis Community College Center. ‘NAWD’ continued from page 1 campus to also wear the A is for Adjunct button.” Adjunct instructor Sharon Kerr said, “At the Reedley Campus we saw over 50 people, students, and faculty. Informing everyone about the issues affecting adjunct faculty was well received. The majority of students voiced their concern over adjunct faculty not having office hours and therefore very difficult to reach face to face when not in class. Department chairs also voiced this concern because the students will often then approach them to help solve a problem, which of course, they cannot in most instances. Adjunct faculty who stopped by the table expressed their concerns over having no benefits. One faculty member stated that this was the only district in which she worked where adjuncts received absolutely no benefits and very low pay as well,” she said. “I was very happy to see both part-time and fulltime instructors take part in the day’s activities,” said Kellen Prandini, Fresno City College adjunct instructor. “Many students also seemed genuinely interested in the issues that affect their part-time instructors. It’s going to take all of us moving forward together to make changes in our district.” The Reedley Exponent reported on the event at Reedley College, and the FCC student newspaper, The Rampage, reported on the Fresno City College event. Getting the Word Out at SCCCD: SCFT Executive Council members were educating the district about the plight of adjunct instructors at various sites on National Adjunct Walkout Day (Clockwise starting at top right): Mark Trezza at Fresno City College, Sharon Kerr at Reedley College, Kristina Miko at Herndon Campus, and Bill Turnini at the Madera Center. 4 SCFT News ‘ORGANIZING’ continued from page 1 which is then offered to others to see and adopt. This occurs in everyday life, in raising children, in training pets, and in negotiating a better deal to purchase a car. I could go on but I won’t (…because I like you all). I will however, go on about the Union, and specifically what organizing looks like for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the CFT, and the State Center Federation of Teachers (SCFT). People Improving Communities through Organizing) to better “If you are a part timer who serve our members collectively. hasn’t already joined SCFT as a Currently, the Executive Counmember, please do so! The crazy cil of the CFT has identified as one of its most important issues thing about agency fee paying expending efforts to increase (within an agency shop) is that membership numbers by because there is a deduction from organizing agency fee payers your payroll monthly, many to become dues paying members. This effort is beneficial to faculty assume they are our locals for many reasons: In already members; this is not general, it helps negotiate better true! You must fill out a contracts when a District knows membership form.” that the local membership is in Organizing model vs. support of what is happening at Service model the table, it allows for increased The AFT has long had as democratic participation of those a main goal: Shifting its cultural norm of “servicing” its fee payers as members, and finally, it strengthens the AFT membership to one of “organizing” its membership. In the and CFT affiliates to have higher memberships to carry-out former model, the main function of the Union is to provide the priorities and servicing of the locals. services both collectively and individually to members who In support of both national and statewide affiliate efforts, are dependent on the hierarchy of the Union to fulfill their SCFT has launched its own campaign to organize our curneeds. A strictly organizing model empowers the memberrent part-time agency fee payers into membership status. ship to become more involved and less dependent upon the service provider and to take more responsibility for Special Note to Part Time Faculty what happens within their local. I personally believe that If you are a part timer who hasn’t already joined SCFT as there needs to be a balance between the two models and a member, please do so! The crazy thing about agency fee that they are not mutually exclusive. We cannot ignore the paying (within an agency shop) is that because there is a servicing needs of our members while we organize, and we deduction from your payroll monthly, many faculty assume cannot strictly service our members because there simply they are already members; this is not true! You must aren’t enough service providers to do so; the union IS the fill out a membership form. SCFT will be conductmembership, it has very few employees of the union. Quite ing friendly and informative phone calls to learn more the dilemma. about our part-time workforce in an effort to increase the The biggest shift in Union organizing has been to form benefits and compensation for all part time faculty in the “community partners” in attempts to build Union density district. These calls and other contact opportunities are through community support (which historically is where designed to let you know whether you are a member or fee Union density have laid). This external organizing campayer, and to provide us a learning opportunity and gain paign is going on at all levels—nationally, state-wide and from you what is of most importance to you as part time locally, and has been wildly successful! A significant examfaculty. ple of state level partnering involves CFT’s participation in It is important to let both full and part time faculty know the Reclaim California’s Future Coalition which was crucial of the benefits of being Union members and how we can to our success in passing Proposition 30. Locally, SCFT is accomplish more together than separately. I will close with partnering with such groups as the Blue/Green Alliance, the Union mantra, “Organize, Agitate, Educate!” Fresno Metro Ministries, FIC-PICO (Faith in Community/ - Shannon Willson, CFT Field Rep. SCFT News 5 Part-Time Meet ‘N Greet was a Full Success Colleagues and Casino: (L-R) Part-time instructor Eliana Saucedo Caza (RC) and full-time instructor Janice Ledgerwood (RC) are all smiles on February 6 at the Meet ‘N Greet. So are part-time instructors Amanda Rowen (CCCC) and Kathryn McCoy (CCCC). SCCCD Board President Ron Nishinaka (center) and Board Member Robert “Bobby” Kahn also attended the event at High Sierra Grill in Fresno. On February 6, SCFT hosted an adjunct faculty Meet ‘N Greet at the High Sierra Grill in Fresno. Over 60 people attended and played casino games, learned about future activities, and shared their experiences. SCCCD Board President Ron Nishinaka and Board members John Leal, Miguel Arias, and Bobby Kahn got to know SCCCD part-time faculty during the event. Here are some comments from SCFT Executive Council members who attended: “The Adjunct Meet-and-Greet on February 6 was a lot of fun. It’s really challenging as an adjunct faculty member to get to know the other instructors on my campus, much less throughout the district. I was thrilled to see people I knew and happy to meet new people. To me, however, the most impressive part was that several members of our Board of Trustees took the time to come, mingle, and listen to us and our concerns. It was nice to meet them and to feel like adjuncts were being taken seriously. I’m really thankful that the union put this together, and I’m looking forward to the next one.” - Jim Keller, SCFT PT Representative At-Large (CCCC) Part-time instructors (L-R) Clare Anzoleaga (FCC), Peggy Quinlan (FCC), and Robert Cochran (MC) enjoyed the casino games at the Meet ‘N Greet. Anzoleaga was the “winner” of the “best poker hand of the night.” “Between our meet and greet and the tabling for NAWD, I felt a sense of community emerging for our adjunct colleagues.” - Mark Trezza, SCFT VP COPE (FCC) “The event on Feb. 6 was fun and exciting to meet new adjuncts in the district. I was pleased we had such a good turnout.” - Sharon Kerr, SCFT Executive Vice President (CCCC) “I had an excellent time at the part-time meet and greet! It was nice to connect with other part-timers who experience similar issues in the workplace. Plus, there was good food! Looking forward to another one soon.” - Kellen Prandini, SCFT PT Representative At-Large (FCC) 6 SCFT News Non-Election Election Results Because no faculty (non, nein, nil, nothing, nadaone, NOBODY….ZERO FACULTY) accepted nomination to run for three (3) open positions of FT Representative At-Large for FCC before the nomination period closed, no election was necessary. Consequently, there will be no full-time faculty representation in an At-Large capacity from FCC on the SCFT Executive Council. Because only TWO (2) faculty accepted nomination to run for one of three (3) open positions for the FT Representative At-Large for RC/CCCC before the nomination period closed, no election was necessary. The Executive Council voted to seat Michael Stannard and Robin Huigen to these respective positions by acclamation. Their terms will begin Fall 2015 and run through Spring 2017. Because TWO (2) part-time faculty accepted nomination to run for the two (2) open positions for the PT Representative At-Large for RC/CCCC, no election was necessary. The Executive Council voted to seat Susan Lusk and Galin Dent to these respective positions by acclamation. Their terms will begin Fall 2015 and run through Spring 2017. Congratulations Mike, Robin, Susan and Galin! These positions are of extreme importance to your union as they serve as informational pathways to what is happening on our campuses and as extended protectors of our hard fought rights and benefits (i.e. our contract). Your engagement IS the heart of the union and for it to thrive it must be exercised. If this is of no concern to you, you need do nothing; if it is, please forward your name to [email protected] and be considered for an appointment to the Executive Council. Because only FOUR faculty accepted nomination to serve as one of five (5) Delegates to the annual CFT Convention, no election was necessary. The Executive Council voted to seat Lynn Campbell (FCC), Sheila Martin (FCC), Gregory Ramirez (MOR), and Allen Siroky (FCC) as delegates to the annual convention by acclamation. Also attending for the local will be President Lacy Barnes and ED/O Michelle Pannett. Congratulations Lynn, Sheila, Gregory, and Allen! Here’s one more thing Union families can share. Save on family entertainment, including theme parks, car rentals and movie tickets with Union Plus. Union Plus gets union families where the fun is, with special discounts on a long list of travel and amusement attractions—including Disney and Six Flags. Who knew your union membership could be so…entertaining? Save the Union Way at UnionPlus.org/AFT
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