Sacramento, CA — CFT – A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals announced today that the faculty of the ArtCenter College of Design have voted to join the union in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. The votes from the mail election were counted yesterday in Los Angeles, California, with over 60% of those participating voting in favor of the union.

Faculty at the college are proud of their union victory and excited about this opportunity to improve the college for faculty and students alike. “We are thrilled that both full-time and part-time faculty joined together to create a unified voice that will make the ArtCenter we love an even stronger home for our students and faculty,” said Cole Case, a part-time faculty member in the Integrated Studies department.

“The result of our union vote comes after almost two years of organizing one-on-one with our colleagues. I am proud that we came together for strength, collaboration, and fairness in the workplace,” said Armando Zuniga, a full-time faculty member in the Humanities & Sciences department.

“We organized this union for transparency around issues like hiring, salary, raises, and promotions,” adds Kim Fisher, a part-time faculty member in Fine Arts. “Too many part-time faculty members have been waiting on fair wages for years. Some haven’t had a raise in ten years. It’s time for things to change.”

CFT President Jeff Freitas congratulated the faculty on their hard fought union victory.

“We are elated to welcome the ArtCenter faculty into the CFT family and we are eager to support them as they begin the process of negotiating their first contract,” said Freitas. “With ArtCenter net assets up 63% since 2014-2015, we look forward to helping the faculty obtain the professional wages and benefits they need and deserve to do their important work.”

Founded in 1930, the ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. With a current enrollment of over 2,000 students, ArtCenter offers eleven undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide array of industrial design, visual and applied arts disciplines, as well as minors for undergraduate students in Business, Creative Writing, and Social Innovation. In total, there are approximately 700 full-time and part-time faculty in the bargaining unit, the ArtCenter Faculty Federation.

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CFT — A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals represents 120,000 teachers, faculty, and school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education. It is the statewide affiliate of the AFT, AFL-CIO. For more information about the ArtCenter Faculty Federation, click here.