Resolutions and Policy
Calling for U.S. Department of Education study of adjunct/contingent pay and benefit inequity
April 29, 2022
Whereas, adjunct/contingent faculty comprise 73% of all higher education faculty (AAUP), which is the majority of U.S. higher education faculty, and a critical and essential force for learning; and
Whereas, adjunct/contingent faculty possess the same teaching credentials and teach alongside tenure-track faculty without the benefits tenure-track faculty are given, including: job security, paid livable wages, access to employer healthcare, and a robust retirement plan; and
California Charter Schools Resolution
Whereas, since the passage of the 1992 California Charter Schools Act calling for 100 charter schools, the number of publicly-funded, and privately-operated charter schools statewide, has grown rapidly to over 1,300 charter schools; and
Whereas, charter schools may operate dependently on the local school district, meaning utilizing or being managed by district governance, resources, and staff where faculty and classified staff are employees of the district and retain their rights and benefits won by collective bargaining agreements; and
National Resolution Calling for DOE Study of Adjunct/Contingent Pay and Benefit Inequity
Submitted by the Part-Time Faculty Committee
Whereas, adjunct/contingent faculty comprise 73% of all higher education (ed) faculty (AAUP), which is the majority of US Higher Education (Ed) faculty, and a critical and essential force for learning; and,
Whereas, adjunct/contingent faculty possess the same teaching credentials and teach alongside tenure-track faculty without the benefits tenure-track faculty are given, including: job security, paid livable wages, access to employer healthcare, and a robust retirement plan; and,
Educator recruitment and retention
March 19, 2022
Whereas, California and the nation is facing an unprecedented staffing shortage in all genres of education employees on school site campuses; and
Whereas, the shortage of education employees has and will continue to negatively impact the quality of educational services being provided to California’s students; and
Whereas, learning loss for California’s students will never be caught up until education staffing shortages are reversed; and
Cap special education caseload in California
March 19, 2022
Whereas, the CFT believes each child deserves a free and appropriate challenging education that can only be reached through adequate and supported resources as identified in their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs); and
Whereas, through Child Find, Special Education identification is increasing the number of students with IEPS (source: California School Dashboard); and
Whereas, the California Department of Education, Section 56362(c), addresses only caseload caps of 28 students for Resource Specialists; and
Develop a strategic plan to end two-tier system in the community colleges
March 19, 2022
Whereas, it is widely agreed that the California Community College system’s over-reliance on contingent faculty is one of the greatest problems in higher education today; and
Whereas, over 40 years of resolutions, advocacy, legislative lobbying, and other efforts have failed to make significant changes to this two-tier system; and
Whereas, there are existing models of a working one-tier system in higher education, such as those used in British Columbia; and
Ending repeatability restrictions that limit student access and success
March 19, 2022
Whereas, in the summer of 2012, when California community colleges were turning away hundreds of thousands of students due to budget shortfalls, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, in the context of a cost-benefit framework, restricted repeatability for nearly all courses in order to prioritize basic skills, certificate and degree attainment, and transfer preparation; and
Divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in workers and communities
March 19, 2022
Whereas, climate change represents an urgent and accelerating crisis, as extreme weather, forest and wildfires, infectious disease outbreaks, rising sea levels, and pollution wreak havoc on the ecosystems and societies in the United States (where the cost of climate disasters doubled in 2020) and across the globe; and
Support the implementation of carbon fee and rebate system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
March 19, 2022
Whereas, increased levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide and methane are the primary causes of climate change; and
Whereas, climate change is an existential threat to life on earth; and
Whereas, the Obama administration estimated the economic damages imposed by climate change to be $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions; and
The CFT resolution to support $10 million in on-going state funding to expand UC Labor research & education
Whereas, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified long-standing class and racial disparities, with corporations making massive profits while working people and communities of color face economic hardship and disproportionate rates of infection and loss of life;
Whereas, California needs to advance equitable economic recovery, that centers the needs of working people and not the corporate elite;
Vaccines and schools
September 10, 2021
Whereas, since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priority has been to keep our members, our students, and our communities safe; and
Whereas, vaccines are a critical tool for controlling the spread of communicable disease in society, as we have seen from diseases like measles, polio and smallpox; and
Recognizing the Armenian Genocide
June 12, 2021
Whereas, 1.5 million people were massacred by the Turkish government beginning in 1915; and
Whereas, the U.S. Congress formally passed resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2019; and
Whereas, Turkey has continually denied the genocide;
Therefore, be it resolved, that the CFT will formally recognize the Armenian Genocide; and
Establish annual Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action in California
June 12, 2021
Whereas, a national movement of teachers, parents, administrators, scholars, and pupils have come together to proclaim an annual week of action, affirmation, and solidarity during the first week in February called Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action; and
Whereas, CFT recognizes February as Black History Month and urges all individuals to join in celebrating the accomplishments of Black and African Americans during Black History Month; and
Support for HEPA filtration in offices, schools, and colleges
June 12, 2021
Whereas, the Environmental Protection Agency has identified that High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) systems can help in the reduction of airborne viruses; and
Whereas, schools, colleges, worksites, and offices usually have Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units and personnel to service these units; and
Whereas, along with source control cleaning and sanitization, HEPA filtration would decrease student and employee risk of exposure;
Support universal distance learning training standard in the community colleges
June 12, 2021
Whereas, many contingent faculty work at multiple institutions of higher education; and
Whereas, community colleges and universities regularly hire contingent faculty; and
Whereas, contingent faculty are required to hold the same academic qualifications and credentials as their full-time colleagues; and
Whereas, qualified contingent faculty are rehired for years; and
Rise up, Recover, Rebuild: A Vision for the Future of Public Education
June 12, 2021
Whereas, public education is a ladder of opportunity and a place to develop the muscle of civic participation, where we both embrace America’s diversity and forge a common identity rooted in social justice; and
Whereas, the AFT’s founding motto is “Democracy in education, and education for democracy,” which was frequently invoked by Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Al Shanker; and
Condemning anti-Asian violence
March 27, 2021
Whereas, eight people were murdered in Georgia on March 16, 2021, including six Asian American women; and
Whereas, there has been a rise in vicious attacks on Asian Americans throughout the country, including on the elderly; and
Whereas, attacks on Asian American women have a long and sordid history, perpetuated by negative media images and misogyny; and
Whereas, anti-Asian violence is not a new phenomenon, but has deep roots in white supremacy and racism within U.S. society; and
Dismantling systemic racism
March 27, 2021
Whereas, CFT strongly believes in combating racism and advocating for social justice and has publicly announced support of the Black Lives Matter national movement; and
Whereas, CFT has an obligation to address structural racism by not only condemning racism and white supremacy, but also by proactively working toward systemic change to end white supremacy, anti-Black racism, and institutional racism in the California education system; and
In support of putting green schools at the heart of California’s just transition
March 27, 2021
Whereas, in the wake of California’s most recent catastrophic wildfires Governor Newsom issued an executive order that directed the state to develop a Just Transition Roadmap by July 15, 2021; and
In support of the PRO Act — Protecting the Right to Organize
March 27, 2021
Whereas, opinion research consistently shows that a majority of American workers would join a union in their workplace if they did not fear getting fired during an organizing campaign; and
Whereas, the National Labor Relations Act, meant to protect workers in collective action and enable them to organize, has been gutted by adverse court decisions and legislative reforms favoring employers over the years; and