2004 CFT Convention

[article from May, 2004 CFT Community College Perspective]

Labor music singalong. A new video on the dangers of contracting out community college services. A plenary speaker who interrupted his own presentation to organize volunteers into a theatrical demonstration of "guns versus butter" economics in front of the crowd. Participation in a loud and lively march against the war in Iraq. The CFT convention wasn't all fun, but at some points it seemed like it, prompting one delegate, Mark Miller from Allan Hancock College, to summarize the experience as "uplifting."

The 2004 California Federation of Teachers convention, meeting in Universal City over the March19-21 weekend, brought together four hundred activists from scores of locals around the state to make union policy for the coming year. The statewide organization's highest decision-making body featured high-profile speakers like populist Jim Hightower, Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez, and state Community College Chancellor Mark Drummond. For members of the Community College Council, however, as for the delegates from the other division councils, the substance of the event resided in the democratic discussions and floor debates that characterize a democratic union's work.

Drummond on the mark
A high point of the CCC meeting on Friday evening was the appearance of Chancellor Mark Drummond. The Chancellor delivered a detailed speech about the current budget situation, sounding cautiously optimistic about seeking ways to restore the several billion dollars lost by community colleges due to the under-funded Prop 98 split. He lauded CCC/CFT for its leadership in fighting for access, low fees and adequate state funding.

Surveying the challenges facing community colleges-ranging from the fee increase/enrollment decline situation, to the current policy turning away qualified high school seniors from the UC and CSU systems and "redirecting" them to the community colleges-Drummond emphasized that without adequate resources, we cannot serve these students at a time when we are struggling to serve our traditional population.

He also mentioned the challenges of increasing diversity among faculty, staff and administration, continuing concerns about transfer success, and efforts to provide basic skills and vocational programs.

Following his speech, Drummond engaged in a lengthy give and take with the crowd. He listened carefully and promised to include union leaders in all levels of policy discussion. In a reference to the slogan of the recent march in Sacramento, he promised the "keep his door open" to CFT members.

A growing part-timer activism
Forty five part-time community college instructors served as delegates to the convention, coming together in a number of meetings and workshops to hear the latest news, build stronger organizational mechanisms, and strategize for the future. Over thirty came to a meeting before the Council met, and a like number to a workshop on "Gaining Power at the Bargaining Table" led by San Francisco Community College Federation of Teachers member Gus Goldstein, AFT national representative Linda Cushing, and CFT Part-time Faculty Coordinator Mary Millet. While focusing on specific ideas for part-timer bargaining power, the presenters also emphasized the importance of working closely with full-timers so that all faculty made gains together. Workshop attendees also found a handout on rehire rights particularly useful.

At a Sunday morning breakfast, the delegates decided to expand their regular regional part-timer meetings into day-long workshops with a training component coordinated by CFT Training Director Julien Minard.

The convention served to rejuvenate spirits for many of its part-time delegates. According to local leader Mark Miller, "I really enjoyed it. I came out feeling more confident about the labor movement, and with a lot of great ideas to put to use in my local as we go into negotiations."

Resolutions
Community college locals submitted a half dozen resolutions to the convention, all of which passed. Among those relating to part-time instructors, one called for restoration of the part-time equity line item at "not less than the original $57 million allocated by the Legislature and Governor" in 2001, and to increase that allocation as the state's fiscal health improves. Another opposed the governor's proposal to collapse part-time categorical funding into general purpose allocations.

Resolution 20.04 reflected the growing concern of faculty over various state and national accountability measures. These moves include accreditation criteria that threaten faculty's traditional voice in determination of learning objectives, as well as unions' rights to consult and/or bargain over academic and professional matters. The resolution calls for working with the state community college Academic Senate and the national AFT to protect faculty and union prerogatives.

The historic under-funding of the statutory split of Proposition 98 funds between community colleges and K-12 schools was the subject of resolution 25.04, which resolved that the CFT support the original 10.93% share for community colleges along with an expansion of all K-14 funding. Another resolution challenged the governor's proposed budget, calling on the legislature to reshape the governor's proposal to balance growth and equalization funding. The delegates also voted for CFT to join Californians for Community Colleges, to help community college advocates speak with a united voice in Sacramento.

Many more resolutions (click here for complete list) on a wide range of topics provided plenty of future work for the organization and its activists, in the spirit of the AFT slogan, "Educate, Agitate, Organize." Speaking approvingly of that slogan, convention keynote speaker Jim Hightower drawled, "The agitators are what made this country. Now it's time to be agitators again. When they say "you're just an agitator," you can say, 'that's right, it's the center post in a washing machine that gets the dirt out."

Mary Millet and Mona Field contributed to this article.