Resolutions and Policy
Support compensation for educational employees during lockdown
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the community colleges regularly hire temporary part-time educators to fulfill teaching and counseling needs; and
Whereas, temporary part-time educators are required to hold the same academic qualifications and credentials as their full-time colleagues; and
Whereas, in the event of an emergency or lockdown, educators become disaster service workers (California Education Code, Sections 3100-3109) and are expected to serve the institution and students; and
Support part-time faculty participation in shared governance
March 24, 2019
Whereas, community colleges regularly hire temporary part-time faculty; and
Whereas, temporary part-time faculty are required to hold the same academic qualifications and credentials as their full-time colleagues; and
Whereas, qualified temporary part-time faculty are rehired for years; and
Limit student assessments not mandated by the state
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the CFT recognizes that student testing, when not misused, is one tool that informs teaching; and
Whereas, the purpose of education is to educate a populace of critical thinkers who can shape a just and equitable society in order to lead good and purpose-filled lives, not solely teaching to a standardized test; and
Whereas, all students should have access to full, rich learning experiences that prepare them for life, citizenship, career and college, and for the resources to make that vision a reality; and
Oppose portfolio schools and privatization
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the drive to privatize public education continues to escalate through a multitude of new maneuvers; and
Whereas, Austin Beutner, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, unveiled a plan to subdivide the school district into 32 networks using a portfolio model, while Oakland and 24 other districts across the country are part of a national network already using a portfolio model to reorganize their schools; and
Require Economic and Environmental Impact Reports before charter schools are approved
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the proliferation of charter schools has caused many public and charter schools to be under-enrolled; and
Whereas, many neighborhoods are saturated with schools; and
Whereas, traffic and safety concerns are often ignored when new charter schools are built; and
Whereas, renters and homeowners are being pushed out of neighborhoods they’ve lived in for decades through gentrification; and
Restore school site budget authority to site councils
March 24, 2019
Whereas, school budgets are a representation of values; and
Whereas, school budgets should be under the purview of all stakeholders; and
Whereas, some administrators abuse their authority when developing and implementing budgets; and
Whereas, there is more buy-in with a decision-making body over an advisory body; and
In support of a Green New Deal
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has determined humanity has 12 years to act to avert the worst effects of a climate catastrophe; and
Whereas, climate change poses an immediate and long-term threat to all working people, our communities and our economic security; and
Whereas, workers, communities of color and low-income people suffer disproportionately from environmental degradation and climate change; and
Oppose attack on transgender and intersex people
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently leaked a memo that indicates an attempt to deny transgender people protection under the law; and
Whereas, the memo sends a chilling message that the existence and identity of transgender people is not recognized by the government, and deepens ongoing attacks on the civil rights of all citizens, documented immigrants, and undocumented people; and
Oppose Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” immigration policy that separates families at U.S.-Mexico border
March 24, 2019
Whereas, the U.S. Department of Justice has adopted a “Zero Tolerance” policy toward individuals apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, which calls for the criminal prosecution of all migrants entering the U.S. outside of ports of entry; and
Whereas, this “prosecution-first” mentality is costly, unnecessarily punitive, and is harming family units; and
Oppose Trump’s transgender military ban
March 24, 2019
Whereas, it is estimated that there are over 15,000 members of our armed forces who are transgender, and a RAND study concluded that allowing members of the transgender community to serve would not impact unit cohesion, operational effectiveness, or readiness; and
Whereas, notwithstanding the willingness of these transgender troops to voluntarily serve in the military, President Donald Trump decided, on the 69th anniversary of President Truman’s order to integrate the military, that these soldiers can no longer serve in our armed forces; and
Support migrant refugee caravans and end “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy
March 24, 2019
Whereas, for decades, Central American migrants have been forced to leave their countries of origin, refugees of wars, natural disasters, extreme poverty, lack of jobs and opportunities, and rampant gang violence. These conditions have become even more acute over the past few years, and have been fostered by a history of extremist and repressive right-wing militarist regimes supported or managed by the U.S. government; and
Support statewide movement for public education funding, charter school reform, and class size reduction
March 24, 2019
Whereas, preK-14 per pupil spending, which relies on state funding, has since 1978 declined from the top 10 in the nation to the bottom 10; and
Whereas, school funding in California is $3,400 per pupil below the national average, while California’s cost of living is among the highest in the nation; and
Whereas, the discrepancies between salary and the cost of living prevent many teachers and staff from living in the communities they serve and prevent school districts from retaining high-quality educators; and
Expand retiree participation in Council of Retired Members
March 23, 2019
Whereas retired member activists have had their talents enriched by decades of effective dedicated service and productive labor activism; and
Whereas retired members are often a more readily available, invaluable resource to locals for their institutional memory, their understanding of issues affecting the working conditions of bargaining unit members, their organizational experience and expertise, and their dedication to the interests of working people; and
Adopt CFT Policy and Positions Handbook, 2019 Version
March 23, 2019
Whereas, the CFT represents members who work in education from early childhood through the University of California system, in public and private schools, both in and out of the classroom; and
Whereas, the mission of the CFT states that we will represent its members’ interests and the interests of the communities they serve through collective bargaining, legislative advocacy, political action, and organizing; and
“CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals” branding
March 23, 2019
Whereas, the CFT Convention in 2016 passed Resolution 30 “Promote and support Classified School Employee Week” which stated, “that the CFT create a task force to look into a name change for the California Federation of Teachers”; and
Whereas, several meetings were held with members from the various constituency groups to discuss all of the possibilities of a name change; and
Whereas, because of our name, the CFT is known as a teachers’ union; and
Support for the Part-Time Community College Faculty Health Insurance Program
May 5, 2018
Whereas, to ensure the success of our students we need to have a healthy faculty; and
Whereas, part-time community college faculty and their eligible dependents should have continuous access to health insurance benefits; and
Whereas, there is an established Part-Time Community College Faculty Health Insurance Program for the purpose of providing a state incentive program to have community college districts offer health insurance for part-time faculty; and
Teaching climate literacy in the schools
March 25, 2018
Whereas, the leading scientific bodies both nationally and internationally agree that the earth’s climate is changing and that humanity’s release of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere is the greatest contributor to that change; and
Whereas, the effects of climate change are already being experienced throughout the world, and noticeably in California, with an increase in average temperatures, wildfires, and sea levels, stressing water supplies and local ecosystems; and
Committing CFT to a climate justice agenda
March 13, 2016
Whereas, we are facing a historic environmental crisis that threatens our present and future survival; and Whereas, the science on climate change is irrefutable in regard to the dire consequences of continuing on the same course of reckless fossil fuel consumption and domination of the economy by corporations committed to non-renewable energy sources for profit; and
No Child Left Behind Reauthorization
September 29, 2007
Whereas, No Child Left Behind has been ineffective in achieving its intended goals, has had negative unintended consequences, is incompatible with policies that do work, is at the mercy of a political process that can only worsen its prospects, and is based on premises that are fundamentally flawed; and
Whereas, focusing narrowly on basic skill tests devolves the curriculum and the educational experience itself and narrows what should be a broad liberal education and the values and convictions that accompany teaching and learning; and