Volume 4 Number 2 Strength Through Unity March 31, 1998

WELCOME

We’re very happy to welcome the following faculty to the CCFT family. We await the rest of you who have not yet joined!

Russell Blair
Physical Education

Eugenia German
Performing Arts

Hylah Jacques
Business Education

Graeme Langager
Performing Arts

Camille Nelson
Language Arts

Robin Powers
Learning Skills/DSPS

Dana Valverde
Language Arts

PROPOSITION 226: An Attempt To Silence Labor

Nancy Culver

Does it seem as though elections in the United States are for sale to the highest bidder? Most of us would welcome fair, comprehensive campaign finance reform in order to return the citizens to the political process. However, you need to be alert to a very one-sided and unfair anti-labor initiative on the June ballot. Proposition 226 was prepared and is supported by a group of prominent conservatives and pro-public school voucher activists (some in California, some not), and by Governor Pete Wilson, who has a long-standing grudge against California educators. It would severely cripple the political influence of unions and other employee organizations, while leaving untouched the much greater political influence of business, industry and very wealthy individuals with a political agenda.

In an all-out effort to silence the voices of employees, Proposition 226 would require any union that contributes to political campaigns for either candidates or ballot measures through union dues to obtain written authorization from each member every 12 months, using a form to be prepared by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Since the FPPC is known to move very slowly, the complex process would take months to set up, thereby eliminating any labor influence from the Fall 1998 election cycle. In fact, many political observers believe that removing the voice of labor from the ‘98 election is the primary motive of its backers, and that many of them know it is likely to be thrown out as unconstitutional by a court. But a legal challenge is long and expensive, and much damage could be done in the meantime. Governor Wilson appears to believe that his support for 226 could help him with his party’s right wing if he again seeks the presidential nomination.

Prop. 226 imposes no restrictions on political contributions by business PACs, which generally spend 7 to 8 times as much as unions do on elections. This proposition is not campaign finance reform! It is not about fairness or free choice! This is a crass grab for power that would guarantee that the political process would be even more heavily manipulated by business and industry with no competing voices from labor.

You should know that currently, only a few pennies of your dues are spent by the state CFT and national AFT for political purposes and that any money spent by CCFT for political purposes is raised separately from dues.

NO ON 226!

UnioNews March, 1998

CFT 1998 CONVENTION NOTES

Marilyn Rossa

CCFT won two CFT Press Awards at the recent annual convention in San Jose. The awards were Third Place for "Best Web Page" (www.thegrid.net/ccft) and Honorable Mention for "Best Bulletin Series" for a series of single page negotiations updates distributed last fall.

In addition, CCFT won the CFT Membership Growth Award for the 1997-98 academic year, by garnering the highest number of new members in the 100 to 400 bargaining unit member category. This is especially noteworthy considering that CCFT is a fairly new local.

The convention workshops were interesting, as usual, especially one presented by Stuart Weinberg, CFT general counsel, on the duty of fair representation The highlight of the convention, however, was the presence of Sandra Feldman, AFT's relatively new president. She spoke a great deal about the proposed merger between AFT and NEA, scheduled for a vote at the AFT convention this July in New Orleans. CCFT is sending me as a voting delegate to this historic meeting. I hope to have a lot of information to pass along, especially how a merger at the national level will affect the locals.

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PART-TIME ISSUES: Pro-rata Pay

Christine Marchant

We need to support State Senate Bill 1848 (sponsored by Karnett). The bill will entitle part-timers to pro-rata pay. Write, fax or e-mail your state assemblyperson and state senator and tell them to vote in its favor.

ELECTORAL NOTES

Mark Tomes

Constitution and Bylaws Changes

I have recently sent to all members proposals recommended by the Executive Board to change certain parts of the CCFT Constitution and Bylaws.

These changes are designed to help us be more efficient in serving faculty needs. Please contact any member of the Executive Board with questions.

Nominations Open for

CCFT President and

Secretary-Treasurer

Now is the time to get those nominations in for these CCFT officer positions! Contact any Executive Board member if you have any questions about the positions or nomination process.

Nominations Open for

Chairpersons

Note also that the positions of chairpersons of the Committee on Political Education, Part-Time Faculty Committee, and the Grievance Committee (who are voting members of the CCFT Executive Board) are open to members. If anybody has nominations for those positions or is interested in one of those positions, they should contact Marilyn Rossa.

UnioNews March, 1998

Tea and Sympathy

If union settlements can be read

like tea leaves, last August's United

Parcel Service strike contains interesting

information for community college faculty.

First of all, the settlement provides a big boost for unionism in general. In the opinion of nearly every major publication, including the New York Times, Time magazine, the Herald Tribune and the Economist, the settlement marks a turnaround for organized labor, which has been on an accelerated decline ever since 1981 when President Ronald Reagan, in the first round of this presidency, knocked out the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association (PATCO), and its 15,000 members.

Following Reagan's lead, businesses shed regulations and initiated a massive wave of workforce reductions, under the guise of euphemisms like "downsizing, "re-engineering," "right-sizing," and "retooling for global competition." Management shoved full-time employees out the back door and hired them or their counterparts back at the front door as "part-timers" for half the salary and no health and retirement benefits. At the same time, top management granted themselves heroic salary increases and bonuses for their chainsaw

approach to restructuring.

This new anti-social, anti-employee,

bottom-line approach to businesses

even affected the way community

colleges are run. Some districts

pegged the salaries of top

managers to how much

they won at bargaining

tables in the form of

takebacks, increasing load

and keeping salary in check.

At Foothill-DeAnza CCD, management

tried unsuccessfully for five years

to take away retirement benefits

for new hires and more recently, curb faculty salary and create two-tier load structures. In 15 different community colleges at last count, faculty hung the albatross "no confidence" around the necks of its top managers largely for behaving like corporate CEOs. Community college managers, apparently confused over the difference between business and education, have responded by blaming unions and "shared governance," and holding state meetings on how to consolidate control.

No less an icon than Peter Trucker worried that not just workers but professionals would soon revolt against corporate greed and its downgrading of the concept of "loyal employees" to interchangeable units of production. Sure enough, when John Sweeney

It would seem like an opportune moment, therefore, for community college organizations and faculty leaders to mount a major campaign on behalf of part-time faculty. The agenda should include better pay and benefits for part-time faculty, restrictions on their overuse, and strong new incentives for hiring full-timers. Throughout business and industry, part-time employees make up about 20 percent of the workforce. It seems a terrible breach of ethics and integrity for a group of educators to accept as normal that 60 percent of their profession should be part-time employees working for half pay with minimal job protections and, all too often, no benefits at all.

Cy Gulassa, a long-time FACCC activist, retired this year from Foothill College. He continues to be involved in community college issues.

UnioNews March, 1998

HEALTH INSURANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE

Mark Tomes

There are some major changes on the horizon for Cuesta employees coming from the Health Insurance Committee. One such change is how our fringe dollars will be treated.

It all started when the district announced that it was concerned that it might be liable for its employees that overexpend their maximum allowable dollars in "pretax" deductions, such as tax sheltered annuities. Employees are allowed only a certain percentage of their gross income for such programs to be deducted before their taxes are calculated, and the district says they have information that says they would be liable for penalties if an employee surpassed his/her maximum allowable amount. (Individual employees have different "maximum exclusion allowances," as they are called.)

The "maximum exclusion allowance" kicks in when an employee has a tax sheltered annuity. Then all of the employee’s tax sheltered programs, including the dependent day care and unreimbursed medical expenses deductions, need to be added up to ensure that the maximum exclusion allowance is not being exceeded by the employee. The district is saying that it cannot manage all this and is proposing that an independent firm be contracted to determine each employee’s maximum exclusion allowance and manage the money going into the Section 125 accounts.

Another change proposed by the district is to put most of an employee’s tax sheltered deductions (such as insurance payments, dependent day care deductions, and unreimbursed medical expenses) each month, starting January 1, 1999, into a separate "Section 125" account, to be administered by the independent firm mentioned above. This is not very much different from the current situation with AFLAC. One big difference, however, is that any fringe dollars left over would be given as an after-tax cash payment (seen as part of an employee’s paycheck).

CCFT attorneys are reviewing the district’s proposal and will help us to ensure that the faculty is being treated fairly.

If the district’s proposals are adopted, workshops will be given in the Fall 1998 semester to explain these changes in more detail.

Another big change coming up is the enrollment period for health insurance coverage. We will be changing the date that new insurance coverage begins from July 1 to January 1 of each year. This means that the upcoming May/June open enrollment period for insurance will be the last one held during the spring. Another open enrollment period will be held six months later (November/December 1998) and then annually (each November/December) thereafter. The faculty union negotiated this in the Health Committee to ensure that faculty members unhappy with or needing to change their insurance carriers did not have to wait an extra six months to do so before the new enrollment period takes effect.

The Health Insurance Committee is also looking into dropping the eye exam/glasses/contact lenses coverage, often called "vision insurance." (Trauma to the eyes is usually covered under our other medical insurance.) There is concern by some members of the committee that many employees are paying more for the limited coverage that the vision insurance gives us than they would be paying for eye exams and corrective lenses without the coverage. We will look more closely into this matter and consult with faculty members before making any changes.

Rest assured that faculty union appointees on the Health Insurance Committee want all faculty members to be aware of the changes going on and want your input before any major changes are implemented. If you have any questions or comments on any of these or other health insurance issues, be sure to contact a Health Insurance Committee member.

We appreciate your patience in awaiting the outcome of this year's contract reopeners.

As soon as we are able, we will share all the details with you.

Editor: Marilyn Rossa

UnioNews March, 1998

for Workers

Cyril Gulassa

FACCCTS December 1997

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