News Releases
Statement from Los Rios College Federation of Teachers on Shooting at Sacramento City College
“We want to express our support for our colleagues at Sacramento City College following the tragic shooting of three students on campus that resulted in one fatality. We extend our sincere condolences to those students and their families. Both the Los Rios Faculty Union and Senate leadership agree that we need to remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure campus safety and will work collaboratively to discuss further steps in light of yesterday’s tragic occurrence.
Chancellor’s task force calls for new accreditor to oversee state’s community colleges
Rogue agency ACCJC handed a serious setback by report
Today the California Community College Chancellor’s office released its long-awaited task force report on accreditation and the practices of the Accrediting Commission for Community Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Validating the view of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) that this rogue commission needs reform or replacement, the task force heavily criticized the way the commission does business, capped with a recommendation that California find a new accreditor.
San Francisco Archdiocesan teachers ratify new contract agreement with the Archdiocese of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA—Yesterday a majority of members of the San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2240, voted to ratify a new contract agreement between the faculty union and the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Accrediting Commission Again Denies Due Process
Commission Fails to Consider Evidence Presented by City College of San Francisco
Sacramento – Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) again failed to provide due process when it announced yesterday, Aug. 5, that it had summarily rejected City College of San Francisco’s request for reconsideration of ACCJC’s flawed 2013 sanction disacrrediting the college.
Supreme Court to Hear Friedrichs v. CTA
Another potential blow to middle class in age of growing inequality
The Supreme Court decided today to hear an anti-union lawsuit, Friedrichs v. CTA. Although the California Teachers Association (CTA) was named as the defendant, a ruling in the case will equally impact the California Federation of Teachers, which likewise represents teachers and other school employees in the state.
State Community College BOG Votes to Extend City College Special Trustee Appointment
CFT continues to call for the return of school’s democratically-elected Board of Trustees, shift focus to accrediting commission
On Monday, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors voted to extend the appointment of a Special Trustee to oversee City College of San Francisco.
Another Misguided Billionaire-Backed Lawsuit
Teacher evaluation lawsuit Doe v Antioch is the latest in a series of special interest attacks on public education
CFT Statement: The Doe v Antioch lawsuit filed yesterday is just another in a long line of cynical attacks on public education.
Community College Accreditation Reform One Step Closer to Reality
CFT-Sponsored Bills Pass Senate Education Committee
SACRAMENTO – On Wednesday, California’s community college system – numbering more than 2 million students – got one step closer to a more consistent, transparent process when it comes to accrediting the system’s 112 schools.
Statement from CFT on the Supreme Court Ruling Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Education union applauds decision, calls it a ‘great victory for all’
The Supreme Court’s ground-breaking ruling today providing same-sex couples the right to marry is a monumental step forward for social justice and civil rights in this country. The decision is announced on the second anniversary of their ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. We applaud today’s decision.
AFT’s Weingarten and CFT’s Pechthalt on the Vergara Appeal
LOS ANGELES—Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt on the plaintiffs filing a brief in the Vergara appeal.
Statement from CFT President Joshua Pechthalt on the Tragic Gun Violence in South Carolina
Education Union Calls for Stronger Gun Control Measures
The CFT shares its outrage and sadness with the families, friends, loved ones and millions of other Americans mourning the senseless murder of nine innocent people killed at the historic First AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Appeals Court Denies Community College Accrediting Commission’s Objections
Rules that CFT suit does not violate ACCJC’s free speech rights
The California Court of Appeals has confirmed a San Francisco Superior Court ruling rejecting the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges’ claim that its rights were violated in the lawsuit brought against it by the California Federation of Teachers and the City College of San Francisco faculty union, AFT 2121.
Heald, CCSF show it’s time to reform ACCJC
ACCJC broke laws pursuing City College, asleep at wheel
for Heald College
Oakland—One day after Assemblymember Phil Ting’s accreditation
reform bills, AB 1397 and AB 1385, passed the state Assembly with
overwhelming bipartisan support, students, faculty, and community
supporters rallied outside the biannual Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) three-day meeting at an
Oakland airport hotel.
Catholic High School Teachers Face New Assault by Administration
Move to get rid of employment stability adds to unfair
demands on teachers
Teachers for the San Francisco Archdiocese, represented by the
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2240, face the growing
prospect, for the first time since the union was formed in 1972,
of entering the summer without a new contract.
UC Contingent Faculty Agree to Temporarily Extend Labor Contract
Lecturers mark contract extension with meetings,
action
CALIFORNIA – UC AFT-represented faculty in the University of
California system held meetings and rallies on most of the
undergraduate campuses today (terms have ended on semester
campuses) after accepting a short-term extension of their
collective bargaining agreement late last week. The contract was
set to expire June 1.
CFT Statement on the May Revision of the State Budget
Building on Prop 30 for a brighter future
Governor Brown is moving in the right direction with this proposal to direct more resources toward schools and to the most needy Californians through the Earned Income Tax Credit. But despite gains for some in the state, economic inequality, as the Governor noted, has continued to grow. The state budget should represent an effort to level the playing field for all Californians.
Educators Appeal Deeply Flawed Vergara Ruling
Educators Appeal Deeply Flawed Vergara Ruling Decision hurts students and hurts teachers
LOS ANGELES — The California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers filed opening briefs today in their appeal of Judge Rolf Treu’s deeply flawed decision in Vergara v. California, a baseless lawsuit brought by corporate privatizers seeking to strike down statutes protecting teachers from arbitrary firings, providing transparency in layoff decisions, and supporting due process rights, all of which contribute to student success.
College Students, Educators Voice Support for Accreditation Reform
Bill passes committee, to benefit colleges across the state
SACRAMENTO – On Tuesday community college students and educators from across the state gathered in Sacramento to urge passage of Assembly Bill 1397, which will reform statewide community college accreditation, impacting 112 schools and more than 2 million students.
Students & Educators Rally Behind Community College Reforms
Accreditation legislation would help 112 schools, 2 million students
SACRAMENTO – Students and teachers from across California rallied at the State Capitol to urge the State Assembly Committee on Higher Education to pass legislation authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) to reform the accreditation process affecting California’s 112 community colleges serving 2.1 million students.
ACCJC Loses in Court—Again
It was good news last week for the nearly 80,000 students who attend City College of San Francisco (CCSF)
On Friday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow rejected the request of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to narrow the scope of the judge’s current injunction, the result of a trial that ended with the judge ruling that the ACCJC had broken four laws in its decision to terminate CCSF’s accreditation.