Community College Articles

Overview

Community College

News and stories of interest for full-time and part-time faculty teaching in the community colleges. 

Article CFT United WRITTEN BY: EMILY WILSON

Community College Council Retreat Focuses on Building Power
Community College Council

After a successful retreat last year for Community College Council (CCC) members, Jennifer Shanoski, Northern California vice president of the CCC and a member of Berkeley’s Peralta Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1603, got in touch with CCC members, asking them if they’d like to do it again. After an enthusiastic response, another retreat was held in San Diego right before the semester started.

The topics people wanted to focus on included running effective meetings, getting involved with local elections, and building a bench of leaders in their locals.

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CFT One Faculty Task Force Vision

Since 2023, the CFT One Faculty Task Force — made up of classroom and non-classroom part-time and full-time faculty from throughout the state — has met regularly to develop a strategic plan to transform the current exploitative two-tier system of faculty in the California community colleges into a one-tier system. As a first step in this process, the task force focused on clarifying what a one-tier faculty structure would look like. As we build a statewide campaign, the work of the task force will be driven by the following Agreements on Principles and Goals, which define our vision.

Article Written by: GEOFF JOHNSON

Heart and Perseverance Revive the California March in March
Students and Faculty bring climate justice, affordable housing and accessibility into focus

 

On a day with weather bright enough to match their spirits, a throng of over 500 students, faculty, and education advocates marched to the west lawn of the state capitol on March 7 in support of community college students, workers, and climate justice. Bringing back the annual March in March, it was the largest such action in the Capitol by student and community college activists in over a decade.

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Bittersweet Legislative Year for CFT Part-time Faculty

Bittersweet would best describe the end results of the 2022-2023 legislative season for community college part-time faculty.

One of the clear positives was the realization of a record 8.22% cost-of-living allowance for California Community Colleges, up .09% from Governor Newsom’s initial proposal of an 8.13% COLA in January. The COLA followed off a fairly robust COLA of 6.56% in 2021-2022. 

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Lobby Day

Speaking truth to power: part-time advocacy at CFT Lobby Day

Progress on part-time issues is not something accomplished only through local organizing and negotiating, but also through direct part-time member legislative advocacy. This year, faculty drove this progress through their advocacy at CFT’s April 26 Lobby Day in Sacramento.

Part-time community college CFT members, most clad in red and wearing jeans as a show of solidarity with Denim Day, were joined that day by dozens of fellow CFT members, including UC-AFT Lecturers, K-12 faculty and staff, and Pre-K, and Early Childhood educators, and retirees.

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Healthcare victory

From north to south, CFT locals win healthcare for part-time faculty

Following CFT’s historic victory to secure $200 million annually in ongoing state funding for community college part-time faculty healthcare, the campaign’s next phase has moved to the bargaining table.

At press time fourteen districts have made agreements to offer healthcare to part-time faculty, with part-timers in twelve of those districts represented by CFT locals. Four of the most recent successes were at the San Francisco, West Valley Mission, Los Angeles, and North Orange Community College Districts. These are the stories of their success.

Article part-time faculty PT campaign
PT faculty get high-five from legislator

Legislative high and low for part-time faculty
Healthcare funding increased in state budget, but higher workload cap vetoed

California community college adjuncts saw the single greatest gain for part-time faculty ever—$200 million in ongoing annual funding for part-time faculty healthcare—but felt bitter disappointment when CFT’s sponsored bill to lift the teaching cap to 85% of a full-time load died for a second time on Governor Newsom’s desk.

Geoff Johnson, AFT Guild San DiegoLacy Barnes, CFT Senior Vice PresidentCFT President Jeff Freitas

AFT resolution asks U.S. Department of Education to conduct higher ed study
Calls for national data about adjunct/contingent pay and benefit inequities

CFT once again demonstrated its commitment to adjunct/contingent faculty by submitting and winning unanimous passage of its resolution “Calling for Department of Education Study of Pay and Benefit Inequity” at the AFT Convention July 15 in Boston.

Article PT campaign part-time faculty
FAQ

FAQ: Part-time faculty healthcare, collective bargaining & state budget
Answers to common questions

Updated September 27, 2022

This year we won a historic expansion of state funding for part-time community college faculty healthcare, increasing state support from $490,000 to $200 million in ongoing funding.

The funding will enable local community colleges to provide quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare to substantially more part-time faculty. Local unions should now prepare to go to the bargaining table to negotiate the healthcare implementation.

Article coronavirus SCFF PT campaign
San Diego student Joshua McCannJim MahlerJames McKeever

Faculty push for the face-to-face classes that students want
In-person college classes improve learning, build campus community, and lifelong connections

Joshua McCann much prefers going to campus for his San Diego Community College District classes. Now in his second year and intending to transfer to a UC and major in political science, McCann says connections on Zoom or in your Canvas inbox can’t compare to being with a person in real life.

McCann goes to campus for three out of his four classes. The other night after his philosophy class, he stayed for office hours with the teacher, and ended up having a two-hour conversation about the class with some of the other students.

Article PT campaign part-time faculty
Part-time faculty on a zoom meeting

Join a campaign kickoff meeting on Zoom — Faculty Healthcare Now!
In phase 2, learn how to secure funding for part-timer healthcare in your community college district

We invite local union leaders, activists, and rank-and-file members to please join us and kick off this phase with faculty power!

In Phase 1 of the Part-Time Faculty Campaign, our collective efforts secured $200 million in ongoing funding for part-time faculty healthcare in the California state budget. Now in Phase 2, we are launching coordinated collective bargaining as members begin to mobilize and bargain in their home districts to secure this funding in contracts or MOUs.

Article PT campaign part-time faculty
raising the percentage of workload

Urge governor to increase workload cap for part-time faculty
Ask Governor Newsom to sign CFT-sponsored bill to raise the cap to 85%!

UPDATE: We are disappointed to report Governor Newsom vetoed AB 1856 on September 25, citing cost concerns. Find his veto message here. This action is now closed.

Please take a moment to urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 1856, which will increase the workload cap available to part-time faculty from 67% up to 85% of a full-time faculty workload in California’s community colleges.