Andrea Edwards has been on the CFT Executive Council for a few months. As a mother, a part-time faculty member, and the president of one of the largest classified units in the state, AFT 1521A in Los Angeles, Edwards doesn’t have a lot of free time. But when she spoke out about a resolution passed at the CFT Convention that bridges elementary worksites with adult education, that made it all worth it. 

Edwards observed that while certainly important and well intentioned, the resolution didn’t take into consideration all the clerical work that would be created for classified professionals if they also had to enroll students at multiple work sites in addition to their usual duties at their community colleges.

“It was a perfect example of what the CFT Executive Council is designed to do, to look at things from various angles,” she said. “I was like, ‘Yes, this is I want to do, and I need to do.’” 

Amankwa (Mac) McKinzie, the president of Local 3486A, who has been on the council for a decade or so, also enjoys the opportunity to speak up on matters such as compensation and benefits.

“I like doing the work for classified faculty and being a part of the Executive Council,” he said. “it’s all positive. We all try to work together, a very diverse group of individuals from all types of different backgrounds.”

Like Edwards, Roy Dietz, president of the El Camino Classified Employees is fairly new to the council, just joining this year. He says it lets him see the inner workings of the state union. 

“There are a lot of things that are covered and that you never realize are being done in the background, like discussing the budgets, and looking at the different things that are happening around the state,” Dietz said. “With the local, it’s a narrower vision as opposed to looking at the bigger picture.”

It’s important to have classified employees on the council, he says.

“I’ve been a locksmith for 30 years,” Dietz said. “Coming to a campus, it’s different from the way it is on the outside with a regular company, so I have that perspective.”

When he first got on the executive council more than 10 years ago, Carl Williams, president of the Classified Council of Employees and the Lawndale Federation of Classified Employees, felt a little intimidated. That changed. 

“I was thinking, here I am a classified worker, a custodian. What can I offer? What can I say, or what can I do to affect change?” Williams said. “Little did I know that just being classified affected change on the council. Our voices are equally heard, and we are equally encouraged to lift our voices. I never feel less than or more than—I always feel equal to every other officer of the executive council.”

Williams says what means the most to him is seeing a project through — such as the rally at the Capitol for classified employees and being a part of it going from a resolution to a plan to happening.

Williams calls serving on the Executive Council an honor. 

“I don’t take it lightly,” he said. “And I urge anyone that is responsible for the decisions I make to hold me accountable.”