Dear Union Colleagues,

Beginning Thursday, 10/12, all CCFF members in good standing are invited to vote on a change in the union’s rate of dues.

CHECK your @cerritos.edu email address for a message from ElectionBuddy.com with the subject “Vote Now: CCFF Dues Change.” It will contain voting instructions and a link to vote via the web.

You may need to check your “Other,” “Spam,” “Junk,” or similar mailbox, depending on your email client. If you do not receive the email, contact me and I will have another one sent.

Here is the dues change proposal:

A majority of “Yes” votes cast in this election by CCFF members in good standing will change the dues as follows:
+ For part-time faculty, dues will be increased by $1.59 tenthly in 2017-18, and an additional $1.59 tenthly in 2018-19.
+ For full-time faculty, dues will be increased by $5.75 tenthly in 2017-18, and an additional $5.75 tenthly in 2018-19.

Dues will be collected at the new rate beginning with the Oct. 31 paycheck.

Interpretation:

Part-time Dues

2016-17: $22.69 per tenthly paycheck
2017-18, If YES: $25.83*
2018-19, If YES: $27.42 (est.)**
2017-18, If NO: $24.24*
2018-19, if NO: $24.24 (est.)**

Full-time Dues

2016-17: $98.94 per tenthly paycheck
2017-18, If YES: $106.49*
2018-19, If YES: $112.24 (est.)**
2017-18, If NO: $100.74*
2018-19, if NO: $100.74 (est.)**

*Increases to AFT and CFT fees automatically pass through to members each year, thus either amount for 2017-18 includes this increase.

**Estimate does not include any increase in AFT and CFT fees, which would be passed through automatically.

Thank you,

–George Jarrett

Elections Committee,
Cerritos College Faculty Federation

Hi All,

To catch everyone up on the most recent Public Executive Board meeting from earlier this week, here is a quick summary of the highlights from the agenda items discussed.

Membership

During the summer, just before the Fall semester began, the union visited the two faculty orientations–one for new full-time faculty and another for new part-time faculty–to talk about the union’s role and purpose.

Also, during this semester, executive board members of the union are beginning an outreach campaign with the goal of talking to 200 current members by mid-October.

If you have any questions about membership, including how to become a member or your membership status, please contact the Membership Chair, Debbie Jensen at djensen@cerritos.edu.

Committee on Political Education (COPE)

The COPE committee is in the process of developing friendly working relationships with the Board of Trustees (BOTs). The COPE Chair has already begun visiting BOT members individually.

The COPE fund is also now growing. Thanks to new generous donors, we now receive about $1,049/mo (for ten months of the year) in donations from our colleagues. If you would like to make a contribution to the COPE fund, please contact the COPE Chair, Lyndsey Lefevbre at llefebvre@cerritos.edu.

The first COPE committee meeting will be held on Wed, Sep 27 at 4:30p in LC 134.

Negotiations

16-Week Calendar

Implementation of the 16-week calendar is currently stalled. CCFF and the District still haven’t come to terms on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The process of implementing the new calendar can begin when this MOU is agreed upon and signed. Also, before transitioning to the new calendar, the BOT has requested a financial analysis of the impact of switching the calendar. However, that analysis will not be triggered until the terms of the MOU have been agreed upon and the MOU itself has been signed. The CCFF and the District started meeting about this in May of this year, but little progress has been made.

Meetings with Human Resources/Management

All bargaining unit members should be aware that, if they are asked to attend a meeting or hearing in Human Resources, or with their dean or chair/manager, that they think might result in disciplinary measures, they have the right to have a union representative accompany them to the meeting. This is part of all faculty’s Weingarten Rights. If you would like to request a union representative to accompany you to such a meeting, please contact Cynthia Lavariere, the Grievance Chair, at clavariere@cerritos.edu.

Budget

This year’s fiscal budget was presented at the meeting by the Treasurer, Terri Alenikov.

The union currently has a $16,000 deficit coming out of the summer intersession (during which, no dues are collected). This deficit will begin to be reversed in November, when dues will begin to be gathered once again.

The union’s executive board is asking members to approve a dues increase. Increased dues will go toward meeting our anticipated legal and negotiated expenses along with providing funding for essential leadership training for current and incoming union officers. Additional funding will also go toward ensuring that the union office can stay open during the summer, so that faculty working during the summer are adequately represented during this intersession.

Copies of the budget will be available in the union office, located in the Classroom Building, room CB 112. Please contact the union President, Stephanie Rosenblatt (srosenblatt@cerritos.edu), to set up a time to pick up a copy and to discuss any items or to answer any questions you may have about the budget.

Veronica Miranda
Your Communications Chair
Cerritos College Faculty Federation (CCFF)
11110 Alondra Blvd
Norwalk, CA 90650
CB 112
562.467.5295
ccfflocal6215@gmail.com
ccffcerritos.org
facebook.com/ccffunion
twitter.com/ccfflocal6215

Hello Fellow Cerritos Faculty,

I hope your fall semester has gotten off to a strong start!

Looking ahead, your union representatives have been gearing up for another bout of negotiations and are optimistic about new wins for Cerritos College Faculty!

At last year’s state-wide and national conventions, both the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) voted to increase the fees our union (as well as, other AFT/CFT locals) would contribute. These increases will be automatically passed on to everyone in our bargaining unit by November 1.

At the end of the spring semester, our local union’s executive board took a hard look at our expenses and voted to propose an increase to our local dues. This semester, the union is announcing the details of that proposal at our next public executive board meeting on September 19 from 11:00a-12:30p in LC 218.

Since our last dues increase in 2012, the union has grown in size and has made steady progress. Most recently, this move forward has resulted in being able to successfully bargain for multiple gains for our faculty. Now, to continue to grow and to continue our work for Cerritos College Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty, the CCFF has found that it is essential to raise revenues to equal expenditures.

At our next Public Executive Board Meeting, we will discuss the dues increase and our rationale for proposing it.

Per the union’s constitution, the Cerritos College Faculty Federation (CCFF) is required to give faculty membership 30 days notice of a vote for an increase in dues and fees (Article VI, Section 7b).

Also per the union constitution, “Changes in the rate of dues may be enacted by a majority vote of those cast by CCFF members in good standing” (Article VI, Section 7).

In other words, all CCFF members, who are in good standing, will have the opportunity to vote on this increase at the time a ballot is distributed.

In the days and weeks to come, our union officers and affiliates will make efforts to further discuss these increases, in order to answer your questions and to fully inform everyone of the details. Please feel free to ask any questions or express any concerns you may have.

We look forward to talking with you all!

Veronica Miranda
Your Communications Chair

To see a copy of the union constitution, please visit: Constitution and By-Laws