Newsroom
Rank & Files, April-May 2014
Sharon Hendricks, a speech instructor, member of the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild, Local 1521, and a member of the CalSTRS Board, was elected by her colleagues as vice chair of the 12-member board for the 2014-15 term. The chair and vice chair provide board leadership, direction and policy development for the largest educator-only pension fund in the world.
AFT President continues to champion issues of California educators
From helping pass Proposition 30, which raises billions of dollars for education, to fighting back against Vergara v. California, a lawsuit filed on behalf of nine student plaintiffs which seeks to dismantle teachers’ rights, AFT President Randi Weingarten stands up for California educators and students.
Courage Campaign honors Pechthalt with its United in Courage Award
The Courage Campaign, a CFT community partner, awarded CFT President Josh Pechthalt with the United in Courage Award on April 22 at Sacramento’s Citizen Hotel. The United in Courage Award is given each year to a progressive leader who exemplifies courage and collaboration in the pursuit of a more fair and just society.
Freeway Flyers: Local action & quick news
- AFT Guild successfully negotiated for continuing education part-time faculty in the San Diego community colleges to be on the same salary schedule as credit-course instructors, and in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca district for part-timers teaching 50 percent of a full load to be eligible for fully district-paid healthcare coverage starting January 2015.
Part-time-friendly resolutions passed at CFT Convention
At the CFT Convention in March, the full body of delegates passed three important resolutions that affect part-time faculty.
More part-time faculty choose AFT/CFT as their union
Non-credit faculty at Citrus College, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Colleges join locals
Faculty teaching non-credit courses at both Citrus College and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Colleges have chosen AFT as their union. Non-credit hourly part-time faculty at Citrus and continuing education part-time faculty at Grossmont-Cuyamaca had been paid significantly less than their colleagues teaching for-credit courses.
Now the faculty have union representation, are on salary schedules with opportunities for schedule advancement, and can accrue sick leave.
What does the Affordable Care Act really mean for part-time faculty?
The Affordable Care Act has made it possible for some previously uninsured part-time faculty to get healthcare coverage. For others, coverage has become more affordable. Available subsidies, along with customizable combinations of premiums and deductibles, may make going on the exchange worthwhile.
When do you qualify for unemployment benefits?
If you are teaching summer school, you may qualify for unemployment benefits in the periods before or after summer session. If you do not have a summer or fall teaching assignment, or another job, you may be entitled to unemployment benefits.
This results from a 1989 legal challenge brought by the CFT in the landmark case Cervisi v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.
Ancillary pay programs: New strategies for part-timer inclusion on campus
Parity pay — compensation for part-time faculty commensurate with that of our full-time colleagues for comparable work — is one of the defining goals of the movement for part-timer equity. Progress continues to be made, but in lean budgetary times salary schedule advancements may be more difficult to negotiate.
How does your pay rate compare to others?
CFT releases comprehensive salary survey of part-time faculty
Have you ever wondered how your pay rate compares to that of other part-time faculty throughout the state? Who gets paid for office hours and how much? Will you earn more if you have a doctorate? What percentage are you earning of what full-timers make at your college for their teaching duties?
Mark James Miller: Meet one of the hardest working organizers of part-timers
English instructor and president of the Part-Time Faculty Association of Allan Hancock College Mark James Miller says that one of the accomplishments of which he is most proud is “getting administrators to recognize how important part-time faculty are. Part-time faculty used to be invisible to them, or seen as just interchangeable parts. That’s not the case anymore.”
A triple play response to a rogue accrediting agency
Bills will support City College of San Francisco, all community colleges in state
By Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President
The CFT is in a pitched battle to repair our broken accrediting system for our public community colleges. The battle is being played out at City College of San Francisco, where 80,000 students and more than 2,000 faculty and classified members are at the mercy of a single agency that instead of ensuring quality education for all, has displayed manipulative practices, policy violations and illegal conduct.