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Local union contract gains
- Tuolumne County Special Educators Federation and the Tuolumne Council of Classified Employees won 4 percent pay raises at the negotiating table.
- Cuesta College Classified United Employees negotiated a 3 percent on-schedule raise for everyone and 1.8 percent off schedule.
- Ventura County Federation of School Employees won back-to-back annual 3 percent raises.
- Gilroy Federation of Paraeducators won a 3 percent pay raise retroactive to the b
Pasadena College staff contribute to Top Ten ranking
Instructional support staff members of AFT Local 6525 were proud to learn that The Aspen Institute had named their school, Pasadena City College, one of the 10 best community colleges in the country. The institute bases its assessments on a rigorous analysis of student performance and achievement data.
Staff take lead in disaster preparedness
Every fall, the College Staff Guild meets to address on-the-job and political issues in the Los Angeles community colleges. This year, more than 200 members of AFT Local 1521A took on another challenge: disaster preparedness.
Fifty survival packs were raffled, members heard from preparedness experts at the Red Cross and they committed to work with their campus emergency response committees as part of shared governance.
And what do the experts say? Being prepared when trouble hits greatly raises the odds of survival. Here are three easy steps to take now:
AFT steps up support for Native American educators
Robert Chacanaca and about 20 other AFT members from Hawaii, Alaska, the Midwest and Southwest attended the recent National Indian Education Association convention and trade show in Reno, Nevada.
The convention included scores of professional development workshops, as well as a timely presentation on the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s historic fight to stop construction of an oil pipeline across North Dakota.
SanFrancisco paraprofessional named Member of the Year
Tom Harriman has been a special education paraprofessional for 30 years at Lowell High School, escorting students into the community to help them develop independence and effective work habits.
Harriman has represented paras on the executive board of United Educators of San Francisco for 15 years, and serves on the CFT Special Education Committee. He stays abreast of local union resolutions, city and state politics.
Classified win family sick leave and grants to become teachers
Classified employees took two giant steps forward in Sacramento during 2016 after the CFT shepherded four bills through the state Legislature that address staff priorities. Gov. Jerry Brown signed two of the bills.
AB 2122 appropriates $20 million over five years to encourage classified employees to return to school and become teachers. Grants from the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program to districts and county offices of education will provide up to $4,000 annually to staff seeking a bachelor’s degree and credential.
Classified Conference 2016: Black Lives Matter conversation engages, unites
“When we say Black Lives Matter, we’re saying that we need an agenda that puts our lives right up there with everyone else’s,” said Christopher Wilson, from Alliance San Diego, a group mobilizing for change in low-income communities and communities of color.
Wilson spoke at the Classified Conference on October 8, before attending the funeral for Alfredo Olango, a black man killed by police in nearby El Cajon.
Free community college: Support staff in higher education rise to the new challenge
Support staff in higher education rise to the new challenge
President Barack Obama started a movement when he announced America’s College Promise in his 2015 State of the Union address.
In the nearly two years since Obama called on Congress to make the first two years of higher education free, six states have enacted Promise programs and another 10 legislatures are moving in that direction.
Top priorities Propositions 55 and 58 sail to victory in 2016
In a crowded field of 17 propositions on the statewide ballot, voters clearly saw the value of publicly funded education and passed CFT’s top priority, Proposition 55, with an impressive 24-point margin.
Prop 55 will ensure continued funding for schools and community colleges at the rate of roughly $8 billion a year by maintaining the existing income tax on the wealthiest Californians through 2030. Victory on Prop 55 was critical, and now districts and unions will be able to determine spending without the fear of layoffs, program cuts or eliminations, or student fee increases.
General Election 2016: How did we do?
Throughout the Golden State, for the past several weeks, CFT members, leaders, and staff plunged into the election campaign with the intensity that comes from knowing first hand what was at stake.
The amazing election work of CFT members, officers and staff
Just days before General Election 2016
The election is just a couple days away, and we want to share with you the outstanding work that CFT members, leaders, and staff have done to ensure victory for Prop 55, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and dozens of CFT’s state and local priorities.
Rank & Files, Nov-Dec 2016
UC-AFT
#NoDAPL: University members have been steadfast in support of the Standing Rock Sioux resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline that threatens tribal water sources. On November 10, UC-AFT Berkeley members rallied in front of Wells Fargo Bank in Oakland, urging it to stop financing the pipeline.