Coach’s Corner – The State of the Union
SState of Our Union
February 2010
The Budget and Summer School
Management has made the decision to cut summer school drastically, and our students are reeling from that decision. CCFT has many questions about the summer school cuts and the college budget in general. For example, how much money is being saved with the cut and how does that square with the balanced budget (except for DSPS) presented in the fall? How will the cancellation of this year's summer school impact the long term growth and health of the college? How has the drastic class cutting from the fall semester impacted the budget? Where are the savings going? And how will Cuesta be poised to implement the changes in the current Governor's budget recommendations? More questions than answers, but we will keep tracking the situation and update you as we get the information we're seeking.
Member Meeting - March
CCFT is organizing a member meeting for mid-March. This meeting will include proactive discussions about the budget, preparing for the union's response if members are asked to take a salary cut, as well as member education (with a labor attorney) regarding protecting yourself against the use of electronic devices by students in class and office hours. The dates / time will be announced shortly.
Education Rally in March
CCFT is teaming up with the Cal Poly faculty union (CFA) and the California Statue University Employees Union (CSUEU) for a pro-education rally on March 4th at Abel Maldonado's office (see attached flyer) from 3:30-5:00. This is an opportunity for us to unite with our colleagues to protect and advance a cause we all believe in--education. The CCFT Executive Board will attend, and we have invited Cuesta ASCC representatives and Cuesta managers to join us. We hope lots of CCFT members will be there.
Accreditation - Probation Status
The Federation is obviously very concerned about the recent accreditation sanction from ACCJC which placed the college on probation. We are waiting to see the administration's preliminary analysis of the issues ACCJC is requiring us to remediate and how the administration plans to meet the ACCJC deadline. We will encourage and support the faculty's role in helping to move us off probationary status and returning us to unqualified accreditation. If it's any consolation, I'm pleased to note that nothing in the ACCJC report suggests that our members are doing anything but an excellent job in serving our students. Let's take pride in keeping that going.
CFT Convention March 19-21 - Fighting For California's Future
The CCFT Executive Board is pleased to announce that nominations are currently being accepted for delegates to the California Federation of Teachers Annual Convention, to be held at the Wilshire Grand, Los Angeles, March 19-21, 2010. This year's theme is "Fighting For California's Future."
If you are interested in being a part of this exciting convention, please contact me directly (amerzon@cuesta.edu or Cuesta phone extension 2711). All reasonable expenses, including travel, food, and lodging, will be reimbursed by CCFT. The Executive Board has limited reimbursement to the number of convention delegates we're allotted by CFT, so get your name in to me if you're are interested in attending. Delegates will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on the convention go to http://www.cft.org/index.php/cft-stories/327-2009-cft-convention-to-be-h eld-in-march.html
AFT Convention - Mark Your Calendar
For your radar, the AFT Convention 2010 will be held July 7-11 in Seattle, Washington. More details regarding this event will be coming forthcoming, but for information now check out the AFT Convention link at http://www.aft.org/convention/ Unfair Labor Charge The Unfair Labor charge filed by a handful of faculty (most of them non-members) will be presented and reviewed at the next Council of Representatives meeting, this Thursday. As discussed in the last State of Our Union message, CCFT's attorneys believe that the unfair labor charge is without merit and expect it to be dismissed. Unfortunately, CCFT has not been able to avoid incurring significant legal fees defending our union.
Negotiations
The CCFT Negotiations Team and the District met on January 26 for our first round of mediation at impasse. In this session we tentatively agreed (signed off) on Article 11 (Rights of the Exclusive Representative), Article 13 (Grievance Procedure), and Article 14 (Conclusion). We have three articles remaining: 8 (Personnel Files), 9 (Disciplinary Action), and 4 (Wages). Since our last session, the Federation has requested that the District return to the mediation table to complete work on Articles 8 and 9 (we are very close). Simultaneously, and despite CCFT's protests, the mediator certified both parties for fact-finding. We are waiting to hear from the District on this matter.
Go Cougars!
Allison Merzon
Instructor, Health and Physical Education
CCFT President