The passage of Proposition 30 in November of 2012 has been a boon to part-time faculty at Citrus College in Glendora, beginning with the winter term and continuing uninterrupted into this fall.

“Many of us worked in the winter intersession for the first time since the panic of 2008,” says Bill Zeman, president of Citrus College Adjunct Faculty Federation. In spring semester, the college added more sections. “The administration had promised 165 additional classes in spring if Prop. 30 passed. They kept their promise, and adjuncts taught all the new classes.”

Previously employed part-time faculty who wanted to teach not just one but two summer classes were able to, according to Zeman. “There are actually more classes available now than those of us already employed at the college can teach.”

This fall, not only are most previously employed part-timers at Citrus teaching as many classes as they can and want to teach, but they are also enjoying an increase in pay, thanks to the new funds from Prop. 30.

“There are actually more classes available now than those of us already employed at the college can teach”

The 2 percent raise the union negotiated last spring was reflected in August paychecks. This pay raise will benefit returning part-timers as well as new part-time faculty hired to teach the additional courses made possible by Prop. 30.

Zeman emphasizes the benefits of the Prop. 30 victory to students, and adds that the win has helped part-time faculty at Citrus understand the power of the union: “I am able to tell new adjuncts of the value of unionism, citing Prop. 30 as an example. I have persuaded several who did not like paying dues that their dues in fact are quite worth it. In negotiations last spring, we also won the ability for new adjuncts to get four steps for experience rather than two. I was able to show new adjuncts that this gain, alone, pays for their union dues.”