Though faculty and students at San Francisco City College are fighting to keep their college open following a report from the Accrediting Commission for Community & Junior Colleges, Local 2121 says changes such as reducing health benefits for part-time faculty are off-limits.

Alisa Messer, who serves on the Accreditation Response Team and is president of Local 2121, told the San Francisco Chronicle:“We’re very concerned that this crisis will be used to roll back decades of gains for part-time faculty in ways that will damage the college.”

Part-timers who work at least half-time for 18 months receive largely the same benefits as full-time faculty. Messer said equitable benefits create loyalty and stability at levels unseen elsewhere.

“We’ve been a model in California,” she said. “The consistency benefits our students, and it’s all-around better for the college.”