CCFF Public E-Board Recap and Union Update
Elections
Dues Increases
In an election held Oct. 12-17, CCFF members voted on a change in the dues all faculty pay. The majority of votes approved the dues increase [124 yes votes (78.5%), 34 no votes (21.5%)].
Beginning October 31, the new dues will take effect. For full-time faculty, the dues increase is $5.75 per tenthly paycheck. With the $1.80 increase in AFT and CFT fees that are passed through, total monthly dues will go up to $106.49. For part-time faculty, the dues increase is $1.59 per tenthly paycheck. With the $1.55 increase in AFT and CFT fees that are passed through, total monthly dues will go up to $25.83. Those changes will be seen on pay stubs beginning Oct 31, 2018.
If you have any questions about elections, please contact the Elections Chair, George Jarrett at gjarrett@cerritos.edu.
Grievance
Weingarten Rights
Faculty are entitled to request that a union representative accompany them to any meeting called by Human Resources, their dean or chair, if the faculty member believes the meeting will result in disciplinary measures. As part of their Weingarten Rights, faculty have the right to know what the meeting will be about and to reschedule the meeting to a time when the union representative can come. If rescheduling is not allowed, faculty can listen and take notes on what is said, but can refuse to answer any questions.
If you have any questions about grievances, please contact the Grievance Chair, Cynthia Lavariere at clavariere@cerritos.edu.
Committee on Political Action (COPE)
The Board of Trustees (BOTs)
The committee is continuing to develop positive working relationships with members of the Board of Trustees (BOTs), as well as attending the BOT meetings, reading board books (a detailed report of what is discussed at the BOT meetings) and composing Board Reports (a brief summary of what was covered in each BOT meeting). If faculty have questions about the board book or the trustee meetings, please contact Lyndsey Lefebvre at lyndseylefebvre@gmail.com. If you would like to view a copy of the board book for the last BOT meeting, click here. If you would like to see a copy of CCFF’s own Board Report, contact Lyndsey Lefebvre and please provide your personal email.
The COPE Chair hopes that the union can engage in smoother negotiations this academic year. The Trustees have expressed that they would like to know more about the faculty, and to have more communication with the campus community, especially in light that they are unable to respond to public comments by faculty, staff and students at BOT meetings.
Part-Time
Campus Equity Week (CEW)
The purpose of Campus Equity Week (CEW) is to raise awareness of part-time faculty and their working conditions. 60-70% of all faculty in the nation are part-time. Campuses should move toward the 75/25 goal—75% of faculty work should be done by full-time faculty, while only 25% should be done by part-time faculty.
During CEW, faculty call for equal pay for equal work. At Cerritos, a part-time faculty member is paid between 51.66%-65.25% of what a full-time faculty member with the same training and experience is paid for the same hour of teaching. Also during CEW, faculty advocate for pay for service work, as well as for access to healthcare provided by the school. Currently, part-time faculty at Cerritos have neither.
The union is organizing Campus Equity Week Events during Zombie Fest. (Click here for the video.) The CCFF will have a booth out near the quad on Oct 26. PT union reps are also encouraging all faculty to hold teach-ins on Oct 31 to inform their students about faculty equity. If any faculty would like to participate in the CCFF booth activities, please click on this link to indicate the times you would like to volunteer. If you have any questions about Campus Equity or about the CEW events this year, please contact either the Part-Time Vice President, Bobbi-Lee Smart at bsmart@cerritos, or Lyndsey Lefebvre at lyndseylefebvre@gmail.com.
Negotiations
16-Week Calendar
The study on the financial impact of changing to a 16-week calendar requested by the District is currently underway. CCFF’s Negotiations Team has asked for a timeline of when this study will be completed. Once this financial study is complete, the Board of Trustees (BOT) will review it and, if they accept the analysis, the Academic Calendar Committee—made up of five union representatives and five members from the District—will negotiate a calendar pattern and exact dates. The Negotiations team will also complete the necessary paperwork with the Chancellor’s Office. Afterward, the team will negotiate the calendar itself, which includes establishing session dates, holidays, flex week, etc.
Contract Item Negotiations
CCFF and the District have now “sunshined” their items for negotiation. Based on last Spring’s survey, full-time faculty identified their priorities as retiree health benefits, health benefits and pay, and assignment. Part-time faculty identified their priorities as pay parity, access to healthcare, and pay for service work.
CCFF is committed to completing negotiations before the current contract expires June 30, 2018, including moving negotiation sessions to Fridays to allow for longer negotiating sessions. While the CCFF’s team has been ready to begin since September the District put off the start of negotiations until November 17.
The negotiations team worked throughout the summer to research, write, and refine contract language. Currently, the team is working with faculty to refine the Assignment article, including responsibilities of coaches, program directors, distance education, and the success center.
Golden Handshake
The District is currently investigating offering a golden handshake (early retirement incentive). We expect that they will complete their investigation by November, when they will inform faculty of their decision.
If you have any questions related to negotiations, please contact the Negotiations Chair, Kimberly Rosenfeld at krosenfeld@cerritos.edu.
Veronica Miranda
Your Communications Chair
Cerritos College Faculty Federation (CCFF)
11110 Alondra Blvd
Norwalk, CA 90650
CB 112
562.467.5295
ccfflocal6215@gmail.com
facebook.com/ccffunion
twitter.com/ccfflocal6215