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October 13, 2007
Manhattan Beach Marriott
The meeting was called to order at 10:10AM
Members Present: Sandra Baringer, Beverly Cope, Phyllis Eckler, John Govsky, Mehri
Hagar, Kathy Holland, Julie Ivey, Deborah Kaye, Neal Kelsey, Sam Russo (Chair),
Mindy Tenen
Also Present: Pat Lerman (CFT Staff), Mary Millet (CFT Staff), Mona Field (CCC
Liaison)
Members Absent: Mark Anderson, Mike Dixon, Kimberly Keenan, Dan Salamone, Mary
Van Ginkle
Approval of Agenda:
Moved by Phyllis, seconded by John to approve the Agenda with Additional
Items: Part-Time salary aligned with full-time salary schedule and COCAL. Approved
unanimously. It was also MSC to add Campus Equity Week, Pick-a-Prof website,
CPFA, and Report from AFT to New Business.
Approval of Minutes:
It was MSC to approve the Minutes of the May 19, 2007 meeting with
corrections (Part-Time Committee rather than Part-Timer Committee, and Carl rather
than Car Friedlander). It was also MSC that Mona shall henceforth take minutes, from
now on with computer.
Business/Discussion:
There was a discussion centered on the revival of the Part-Time Task Force within
the System Office. The Committee supports the revival of the this Task Force so that
Part-Time faculty have a voice and some connection to the State Chancellor’s Office. It
was MSC that Sam ask Carl Friedlander to write a letter on behalf of the CCC urging the
reconvening of the Task Force, and that other members contact our fraternal organizations
to ask them to also write letters asking for reconvening of the Task Force [i.e., FACCC
(Kathy), CCA, CPFA, CCI (Phyllis)]. It was also decided that we should check with
David Milroy about progress on this issue.
We then had a lengthy discussion on the construction of the Part-Time Committee. After
a presentation of some background information and a discussion, the Committee agreed to
be open to non-faculty members being appointed to the Committee by the CFT
President. It was decided that Sam will convey the Committee’s attitude to Marty for his
future recruitment activities. A question was asked as to whether there are part-timers in
ECE/K-12 and Classified. The answer is “yes”, but that these folks get equal pay for
equal work. It was also decided that if new members are appointed, the Committee
budget might need to be increased. It was MSC that the Part-Time Committee is open to
other part-time/contingent workers who belong to CFT being on the Committee. It was
also noted that the Committee’s mission statement is online: “The purpose and goal of
the CFT Part-Time Faculty Committee is to advance, through political action and
collective bargaining, the interests of contingent faculty in both public and private higher
education.” This mission statement will need to be changed to reflect the new
constitution of the Committee.
There followed a lengthy discussion concerning the proposed change from the 60% Law
to the 67% Law. We discussed how to proceed at this time while waiting for an author
(legislator) and a bill number. As an action item, it was decided that all of us should talk
with our respective legislators about 67% in order to prepare them for the bill. It was
also pointed out that we should make certain that our Local leaders are informed, that we
should contact our fraternal organizations (FACCC, CPFA, CCA, CCI) to gain their
official endorsements. Also, CFT, through Deborah, will publish an Issues Paper. A
discussion also ensued concerning other potential organizations to approach about
supporting 67%. After lunch, and with input from Carl Friedlander, it was agreed to not
seek any other involvement beyond the organizations mentioned above. It was also
decided that we should begin working on this bill even before it has a bill number. Mona
asked whether the Committee would like her to see whether the Los Angeles Community
College District would support 67%; getting management support will help with passage
of the bill. Marty stated that management will support anything that doesn’t give tenure
to faculty. John suggested that perhaps we should focus on Academic Senates. Marty
said that the Academic Senate will take a position, but it is very closely divided. The
issue could be placed on the State Senate agenda as an emergency item. We also discussed
which of our members would go to other organizations to ask for support. It was decided
that Kathy and Phyllis would contact FACCC, CPFA, CCA, and CCI.
A discussion followed about the Community College Initiative (now Prop 92). Phyllis
pointed out that K-12 is shrinking, and Prop 98 funding is based on growth in K-12. At
the same time that K-12 is shrinking, the community colleges are growing. Community
colleges will not be harmed by K-12 shrinking if Prop 92 passes. Marty stated that CTA
has decided to oppose Prop 92 because there is no accountability in terms of the money
being spent in the classroom.
We then discussed FACE legislation, and part-timers’ role in advancing FACE legislation.
Deborah said that FACE now has a blog and anyone can contribute. Sam stated that
other states in addition to California have introduced FACE legislation and that he would
have a complete list of those states for our next meeting (actually, I’ll get the list and email
it to the Committee).Deborah said that there is nothing hew to report at this time,
but encouraged everyone to visit the AFT FACE website/blog so they can claim many
hits.
It was pointed out that the one-time augmentation of $4 million was vetoed by the
governor. Even though it is moot now that it has already been vetoed, we should continue
to fight to make certain that Health Care remains a line item in the state budget.
A lengthy discussion followed concerning unemployment issues for Part-Time faculty
who also sub in K-12. There have been reports, via FACCC, that some Part-Time
faculty are losing their appeals because of K-12 sub status. Kathy asked whether the
Cervisi decision can be expanded to include community college instructors who also sub
in K-12. Pat, who is a lawyer, will research the issue, perhaps consult with Robert
Bezemek, and report back. Options for action may include a test case or further
legislation to clarify the Cervisi court ruling about unemployment for adjuncts.
Phyllis brought up the issue of Part-Time/full-time salary equity issues. Phyllis has a
complex idea for helping part-timers by placing them on full-time salary schedules.
Phyllis will send the article she wrote and her spreadsheets to everyone for their local use.
Phyllis also pointed out that adjuncts who grade papers, for instance, are not paid
equitably when compared to full-timers. This would help bring adjuncts to pro-rata. She
also suggested that we ask for more money every year; that is, more columns and steps
for both full-time and part-time. This must be done on the local level. Phyllis suggested
that more money should go to those who teach 12 to 15 credit load since they do grade
papers, while 18 hour credit load folks do not have to do grading of papers. In this way,
everyone will get some salary increase, but there should be another pot of money to help
equalize pay.
COCAL will be held in San Diego, August 8 – 10, 2008. We need to gather sponsors for
the event. John will attend as the Part-Time Committee rep. Also planning to attend are
Sandra, Julie, Mark, and Mindy. Sam said that the money is in our budget to send
members to COCAL. Mary stated that AFT has already contributed. Julie asked about
the topics at COCAL. Sandra suggested that we get someone to speak on bargaining.
Under Old Business, Deborah pointed out that the CFT Part-Timer will be published
only 2 times per year.
John noted that during Campus Equity Week, the Cabrillo district is holding an event to
honor Part-Time faculty who teach in the district.
John led a discussion of the Pick-a-Prof website. This website makes public the exact
grades given by each teacher in each course. Students can read these ratings and then
decide which classes to take. Administrators can also read these ratings and use them for
re-hire purposes. Currently, anyone has free access to this website, including students
who are shopping for “easy graders”. This website also raises the issues of grade
inflation and adjunct insecurity. In other words, will adjuncts give many A’s in order to
be re-hired? The website also places pressure on adjuncts to get good ratings. This is a
very serious issue. Mehri said that she understood that there is a lawsuit against Pick-a-
Prof. John recommends taking the data to your college’s Academic Senate to remind them
of the danger to academic integrity and quality of teaching when adjuncts feel that they
must give A’s in order to have enrollment and to retain their jobs. It was also pointed out
that many districts have evaluation forms for adjuncts that are identical to those used to
evaluate full-time faculty. Part-Time leaders should work with their local to ensure that
adjunct evaluation forms be appropriately worded to reflect the works that adjuncts are
paid to do.
Sandra asked for articles for the CPFA News. It was discussed as to whether the
Committee should place one or two ads, and whether we should include a list of all CFT
locals. Also, do we want to pay for a quarter-page ad to advocate for the change to 67%?
It was MSC to authorize $575 for a quarter-page ad with contents to include a push for
67% legislation and other pertinent CFT Part-Time Committee information. Deborah will
draft the ad and get input from the subcommittee (Phyllis, Julie, and Mehri).
Deborah reported that she attended the AFT National Higher Ed Conference, and the
networking that took place. The next Higher Ed Conference is scheduled for March 27 –
30 in Washington, DC.
It was announced that the 2008 CFT Convention will be held April 11 – 13 in Oakland.
A brainstorming session followed concerning part-time workshop topics for the
Convention. Some of the topics proposed were Unemployment Insurance, Negotiating
separate evaluation forms for adjuncts, Pick-a-Prof website, Academic Freedom for Part-
Time faculty, Book Order options for Part-Time faculty, and Parity. It is understood that
we may not get three timeslots. Deborah will work with Julie and Mehri to create three
coherent workshop proposals. The Committee will try to meet at some time early during
the Convention. There will also be the usual Part-Time breakfast on Sunday morning.
The meeting adjourned at 3:05PM
The next scheduled meeting is Saturday, February 23, 2008 at the Oakland Airport
Hilton, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM
return to Part-time Faculty Committee page
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