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June 6, 2002 |
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COC Part-Time Faculty United 
College of the Canyons Part-Time Faculty United Building a better profession, a better institution and better student learning. The following emails come from several sources (including California adjunct organization listservs). There are included here for there direct or indirect relevance to the part-time faculty organizing campaign at College of the Canyons. May 23, 2002
Linda,
Wonderful accomplishment! Caroline Blake . . .and another: Congratulations, Linda, AFT/ CFT and the faculty at Cerritos College! Keep up the wonderful work. Like the Cerritos folks, we at College of the Canyons are truly indebted to your tireless efforts on behalf of part-time faculty (and in this case full-timers too) to gain the benefits of effective union affiliation! ¡Adelante! Michael
Ward
. . .and another (May 24): Great news, Linda! You've done a fantastic job! Keep racking up the victories. Debbie Brasket May 21, 2002
Thank you so much for your emails and the information that you send. It is so very helpful. . . .thanks to you!!!!! S. (adjunct; COC and LACCD) . . .and another: Hello Michael, Thanks so much for . . .[the] wonderful information. I would like to be kept informed about what is going on with this . . . I'll appreciate getting the updates! Although I must admit, I was never in favor of unions . . . I am beginning to see why it may be a good thing after all. Since . . .there will be a union, I want to be able to support the one that represents me and my peers best, one for what we are, part timers! J. The following email came to COC Part-Time Faculty Solidarity/ United from the California Part-Time Faculty listserv: . . .this is great news. Congratulations to all who worked so hard for this. Margaret Quan The following statement is an excerpt of an email from AFT/ CFT representative Linda Cushing to COC P-T Solidarity/ United: . . . If [the COC administration and its full-timers union - COCFA/ CTA/ NEA] had not been so arrogant and had been willing to devote any real time and energy toward the PTers, they would have been collecting cards all along. But, they couldn't abandon their public (and perhaps even privately-held) position that they simply had the RIGHT to the part-timers (after all, this was THEIR plantation and they could run it however they wished). Further, at any time they could have mounted a flyer campaign and full-time faculty leadership could have set out to talk to PTers, even tabling and phone calling. Look at what WE accomplished with just a handful of people who were juggling other lives and other jobs. They apparently didn't want to work that hard and ultimately they didn't care THAT much . . . Linda Cushing May 19, 2002
Thanks,
Michael. Best of luck,
May 18, 2002
Congratulations to all: you must be elated!!! Sasha
Moore/Music
The following emails of solidarity came through from more COC adjunct faculty members (as usual, initials replace the full names that were included in these messages): THANK YOU for your support! WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, and TOGETHER, WE WILL SUCCEED! Excellent! K. and from another (different) "K" comes the following email: I spoke to one of the people today and I think she will vote AFT!! The following email of support came through from one of our colleagues at a CTA-affiliated campus in Northern California (his name is withheld): Hi Michael, and congratulations on your success with getting recognition to vote for your union representation. . . .I have not been following your group's saga, but I suspect my group may be facing similar problems: lack of support by the full-time union. . . Thanks,
The following email from AFT/ CFT representative Linda Cushing came over the California part-time faculty listservs: Here's the latest: PERB has just confirmed that the AFT part-timers at College of the Canyons have achieved MAJORITY SUPPORT (over 50% of part-time faculty members have signed cards asking AFT to be their exclusive bargaining agent). While part-time faculty are celebrating striking a blow for democracy, the CTA full-time faculty union has now formed a Crisis Committee to deal with this distressing turn of events. Linda Cushing College of the Canyons Part-Time Faculty Solidarity/ United/ AFT weighs in on this on-going issue: The College of the Canyons administration and the CTA/ NEA continue to work to keep us from organizing even though we have received majority support from our adjunct colleagues! WE LOOK FORWARD TO AN ELECTION IN THE FALL. The district and the CTA/ NEA do not want that to happen and are doing everything that they can to prevent it. Despite their efforts to undermine our organizing campaign, the COC administration and its CTA/ NEA affiliated full-time faculty association (COCFA) are attempting to depict themselves as friendly to part-time faculty members. The following is an email circulated to full time faculty at COC by the COCFA/ CTA/ NEA "Crisis Committee" sometime around May 18: Dear Colleagues: Time is running out! The Crisis Committee would like to encourage all faculty to approach our adjuncts and encourage them to join COCFA. CTA staff will be on campus throughout next week to talk to our adjuncts. The Crisis Committee will have a table in the main lobby of the Administration building and you are invited to join us by saying to our part-time faculty that WE CARE. Remember that we are all part of the same family. Thanks The Crisis Committee.As part-time faculty members, we don't question the fact that our full-time colleagues are supportive of us. WE DO, however, question the sincerity of the COCFA/ CTA/ NEA that refused our membership in their organization for over twenty years until the state equity money came down to the district. If they truly were our friends then they would STAND ASIDE AND LET US HAVE AN ELECTION! CTA, Get Out of the Way! May 17, 2002
Congratulations you guys. I know you have worked really hard. Due to the fact that adjuncts are kept fairly isolated from each other, I really only know two other adjuncts . . . But I know who I'm voting for (!) and I'll talk to those two people. Thanks for all your hard work. K. . . .and another: Thanks for the good news. T. COC P-T Faculty United received the following emails of solidarity and congratulations: Congratulations COC part-time faculty. It was a long hard fight but you prevailed. The best of luck in the election. Harry
Korn, Grievance Chair
THANKS HARRY! . . .and another: Congrats on COC progress. I was an adjunct there for a little while and resented being paid half there what I earned at SMC. Anyway, I'm so glad that the battle has been won. Keep
up the good work,
May 16, 2002
yeh, talk about faculty rights... P. . . .and another: Thanks for the news! Thanks also for the hard work and persistance of all of you who made this happen! Good job! K. and support from our colleagues from across the state (names included). . . Michael
et al: congratulations, and welcome aboard.
. . .and another: Dear
Michael & other part-timers at College of the Canyons,
In
Solidarity,
May 12, 2002
thanks for the good work! d. . . .and another: Just a quick note to thank you for all the work you are doing on behalf of the part-timers at COC! C. May 11, 2002
There continues to be some confusion about the role of a partnership between the College of the Canyons adminstration with its CTA/ NEA - affiliated full-timers faculty orgainzation, and its deleterious effects on adjunct faculty there. It is important to clarify significant points with regard to the situation at COC. The College of the Canyons (full-time) Faculty Association (COCFA)/ CTA/ NEA are working in conjunction with the the COC/ Santa Clarita Community College District administration in an effort to quash efforts by part-time faculty to organize. After having denied membership in their organization for many (well over 20) years, the COCFA decided to subsume over 380 adjuncts into their organization against our (adjuncts) will only after the part-timers' equity money became available from the state. Then the COCFA claimed to be our representatives. With the help of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT/ CFT) we complained to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and they backed our position. COCFA/ CTA/ NEA nevertheless resisted, despite their promises to abide by PERB's decision in that matter. At that point, PERB took the highly unusual step of taking our case to Judge David P. Yaffee of the Los Angeles Superior Court to seek an injunction, forcing the "Defendant Santa Clarita Community College District, College of the Canyons (District), cease and desist from recognizing the COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS FACULTY ASSOCIATION, CTA, NEA (CTA) as the exclusive representative for the District part-time faculty employees" (the full text of this ruling can be read at http://home.att.net/~cocptsolidarity/cocptfu-historypage-mar2002.html). Following the issuance of the injunction, part-time faculty were free to begin a process of collecting cards, and within a few short weeks we received the widespread support of the part-time faculty members, enough to file a petition for recognition with PERB. Our goal in doing this was simply to gain an election. Our hope is to have an election between AFT/ CFT and CTA/ NEA. If CTA doesn't attain the kind of support that we have so far enjoyed, then an election for AFT or no union will be just fine. But the COCFA/ CTA/ NEA and the district are doing their damnedest to keep an election from happening by submiting motions related to PERB's pending Unfair Labor Practice case against them, thereby putting off a final decision to a point after the September 23, 2002 expiration date of the injunction. If CTA/ NEA were so pro-part-time faculty, then they would back off from their fight against our attempt to win our democratic right to an election! Shame on them! As part-time faculty members at COC, we have followed the rules and acted in good faith. The COCFA/ CTA/ NEA in concert with COC/ Santa Clarita CCD have done everything in their power to thwart our efforts to gain an open election. THE ONE AND ONLY ISSUE is simple - FREE CHOICE! The COCFA/ CTA/ NEA have (like the district that supports them in Santa Clarita) been duplicitous and unethical. Since they have been quite vocal in their assertions regarding part-timers advocacy, this story (and the related account of what they are doing at Victor Valley Community College) needs to be heard; CTA/ NEA credibility is at stake. Read the history for yourselves on these pages. On another note, congratulations to Dr. Bradley Reynolds for his new post as COCFA President. Unfortunately, Dr. Reynolds has a past history of refusing adjunct membership in the COCFA; his current attempt to portray the COCFA as adjunct-friendly, by asserting that "full-timers DO care about them" is disingenuous. With extremely few exceptions, full-time faculty members at COC are indeed concerned for part-timers. The COCFA, on the other hand, has never in the past shown that it had the best interests of adjuncts at heart, and their attempts to woo us now should be viewed with a considerable degree of circumspect. On April 26, 2002, the part-time faculty at College of the Canyons filed a petition for representation with the Santa Clarita Community College District and validated this filing with a majority show of support to PERB. The filing comes only a day before the scheduled PERB two-day hearing on the COC unfair labor practice charge brought by AFT against the district on behalf of part-time faculty. The charge is that the district violated legally-mandated neutrality by showing preference to the CTA full-time faculty union when they agreed to a back door unit modification accreting 380 part-timers without their knowledge or consent. Previously, PERB sought and won a rare injunction in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the district and the full-timers union to keep them from immediately negotiating a sweetheart deal to consolidate their power over part-timers. How our petition for representation fits into the legal battle is unknown. Ordinarily, our filing would precipitate an immediate election in the fall. Considering the amount of district investment in this fight, it is very possible COC will try to thwart our efforts. In addition to encouraging support from our colleagues, COC Part-Time Faculty United will soon announce regular meetings and part-time faculty get-togethers. One of the many positive aspects of our organizing campaign has been getting to meet and network with other adjunct faculty members. The overwhelming positive response from our colleagues not only has ensured our ability to file for recognition and thereby gain an election soon, but it has provided a means for regular communication and solidarity. Together we have sown the seeds for a powerful organization to acheive part-time faculty rights at College of the Canyons! College of the Canyons Part-Time Faculty United/ AFT May 8, 2002
In a message dated 5/6/2002 9:53:11 AM Pacific Standard Time, Deborah writes: I suggest turning to your legislators. Go to them with the request that they intervene to get the parity money into the hands of the PTers. Our district was holding the parity money hostage as a bargaining tool in contract negotiations. Our legislators when informed immediately contacted the district and told them to get that money out of the negotiations [it had nothing to do with the contract squabbles] and into our hands. The district quickly moved to settle. Do not underestimate the power of your legislators in coming to your defense.To the listserv re the above: As stated by Deborah above I went to see our state senator regarding the contract negotiations in our district; the visit was not solely about the parity funds. But, yes, my state senator did pick up the phone and call our district chancellor to move the negotiations forward. However, the parity money in our district is no closer to being in our hands than when I went to Sacramento to speak to my state Senator. The contract has been negotiated, voted on by the faculty and ratified. BUT, now the district is telling us they CAN NOT HAVE THE PARITY FUNDS (1.6 million) IN PART-TIME FACULTY'S HANDS UNTIL DECEMBER 10. Nor our state COLA. I'm on the fence trying to decide if I should pay my state senator another visit. By the way, I would like to hear from the college districts that have already distributed their parity funds, please. Margaret Quan And Deborah's response: Do these District administrators and HR-types go to school to learn to be such unscrupulous--I can't even think of an appropriate term right now-- ? I am beginning to wonder if they are all graduates from some school of Lies and Deception, with degrees in Obfuscation, Passing the Buck, Denial of Responsibility, and more. Margaret, I am sure you know this already, but that district has received at least 2/3 of its parity allotment and has it in the bank earning interest! Will the district pay its part-timers the interest as well, if it waits until December 10? It should. But, of course, it won't. We seem to be experiencing stalling (or worse) in all of my districts as well. Perhaps we should start a massive write-in, call-in campaign. But who should we appeal to? The problem with these districts seems to be they have no accountability; they fear no reprisal from any watchdog agency or organization. Is there no agency with teeth in it that can make them be accountable? Suzanne Crawford, Saddleback, OCC, Cypress And another response: I would suggest that, if we do organize this, we should write to our state union presidents, with a copy to the Chancellor. Chris Storer May 9, 2002
First of all, I'm so grateful to you all for leading us part-timers in this struggle. Bravo! Secondly, would you please let me know how to go about receiving unemployment benefits during the summer? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, R. May 6, 2002
Dear Michael and COC PT faculty; I applaud you for your efforts and hard work. If your district is holding the part-time equity pay hostage because of the current situation then I suggest turning to your legislators. Go to them with the request that they intervene to get the parity money into the hands of the PTers. Our district was holding the parity money hostage as a bargaining tool in contract negotiations. Our legislators when informed immediately contacted the district and told them to get that money out of the negotiations it had nothing to do with the contract squabbles] and into our hands. The district quickly moved to settle. Do not underestimate the power of your legislators in coming to your defense. I would even ask for their support in urging the district to allow to go ahead with your elections as per the PERB decision. Make them your allie[s]. Deborah Shanks, DVC PT And a response: Hi Deborah, This is great. Thanks for passing on the news. Ciao, Chris
And another email from the listserv: Best of luck and keep up the momentum. I think the only way for justice/equity for "part-time" faculty is to go after board seats and work hard in elections at c.c.'s in their place of residence. Sincerely, David Siegrist May 5, 2002
One of the best things about CPFA and this listserv is the ability to shed light on these best and worst practices. No wonder the COC administration wanted a PT union that was in their hip pocket, so to speak. Mary Jo May 4, 2002
Was I dreaming, or did I see something recently about receiving unemployment in the summer for teachers?... Thanks!! Keep up the good work!! I just hope we get those raises soon, as I am getting older!! S. And the response from COC Part-Time Faculty United: Dear S., You weren't dreaming - as adjunct faculty in the community colleges, we are entitled to unemployment during the summer and winter breaks. The best reference that I can give you right at this moment is a page on the California Part-time Faculty Association's site by part-timers activist Margaret Quan. She includes the process for filing for unemployment as well as the simple appeals process if an uninformed EDD worker at first denies a request (form, legal codes, and case law numbers included). These details can be reached at http://www.cpfa.org/unemployment.html. . . . The ground-breaking 1989 case that established the availbility of unemployment insurance for part-time college faculty was led against a recalcitrant college adinistration by renowned labor attorney Robert Bezemek, who, incidentally (or rather, most importantly) is representing College of the Canyons part-timers in our unfair labor practice complaint against an equally recalcitrant COC/ Santa Clarita CCD. Of course, we could not afford such talent or proceed in our efforts without the support of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). I also teach at Ventura College where we have a strong AFT Part-timers' Caucus, and there we recieve notices between the semester breaks that remind of the availability of unemployment insurance, with a step-by-step guide on how to go about it. This is the kind of thing that we will make available at COC (in addition to pay increases, health insurance, office hours, etc.), but first, we must have an election. At this point, the CTA-affiliated COC (full-time) Faculty Asscociation and the district are doing everything that they can to keep that from happening (while falsely claiming to have achieved gains for part-timers). Nevertheless, their legal maneuverings should be all played out by the time the fall semester begins, so we can expect to finally have an election then! If you have any questions regarding unemployment insurance or anything else, please contact me or the other members of our organizing committee. COC Part-Time Faculty United The following email messages were forwarded to COC Part-Time Fculty United from the California Part-Time Faculty Association (CPFA) listserv: Dear Colleagues, First of all CONGRATULATIONS on Mary Jo's having been hired full time! As part-time faculty, we can all remain in admiration for your success and hopeful for the same - that is wonderful news indeed! As an adjunct instructor at College of the Canyons at Santa Clarita, I would like to offer the following update on our efforts to organize. First the success: THANKS to the successful and UNITED EFFORTS of MANY faculty members from College of the Canyons and across California, and crucial assistance from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its state affiliate the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), COC Part-Time Faculty United is in the process of organizing its adjunct faculty! COC Part-Time Faculty United is pleased to announce that on Friday, April 26, 2002, the COC P-T Faculty United Core Organizing Committee served legal notice to COC President/ Santa Clarita CCD Superintendant Diane Van Hook, that a "Request for Recognition" based on "Majority [adjunct faculty] Support" has been filed with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). This is a major step toward our goal of putting together a viable and effective collective bargaining unit for adjunct faculty at College of the Canyons. We can now look forward to having an election! Now the "so-so" news: The actual date and time for such an event has yet to be determined based on rules set by PERB. And the bad news: In the meantime, we continue to fight attempts by the COC (Full-Time) Faculty Association/ CTA/ NEA in concert with COC/ Santa Clarita CCD to stall PERB in its final decision and our efforts to gain an election - what do they have to fear? By stalling with frivolus motions etc., COCFA/ CTA/ NEA are apparently attempting to push PERB's decision beyond the late September expiration date of the injunction that we won in March, which forbids CTA to induct us against our will - until late September. Then, they will once again claim to represent COC part-time faculty and "bargain" away our portion of the state equity money, that still has not found its way into the hands of COC adjunct faculty. By pursuing a course that continually denies part-time faculty their democratic right of FREE CHOICE, COCFA/ CTA/ NEA obviously does not have part-timers' issues at heart, other than to perpetuate an abuse against them; this is the situation at COC, and at Victor Valley Community College as well. All we want is an election. What do they have to fear? Meanwhile, our web page has been updated, with new information and links. It can be found at http://home.att.net/~cocptsolidarity/cocptunited.html. In Solidarity, Michael
K. Ward
And a response: Thanks for the good news and game plan from COC. I've bookmarked the website for when Bakersfield College PTs make their move. And thanks for everyone's good wishes. . . ~Mary Jo And another response: As a founder and the first president and chief negotiator of the MiraCosta College Academic Associate Faculty, CCA/CTA/NEA, a bargaining unit made up of only part-time credit faculty, I must disagree with the assertion that CCA/NEA is not interested in part-timers. From our organizing efforts six years ago through two very tough negotiations, CCA has been very supportive. I've never been turned down when I've asked for something from them. I think that time is better spent going after the real enemies of part-timers, namely anti-student/anti-teacher administrators and CEOs who continue to keep their colleges open on the backs of our exploited colleagues. Unions may and do disagree with each other occasionally and that is unfortunate. However, I don't believe that any higher education faculty union, and particularly CCA, is a foe of part-timers. Respectfully, Joe Chirra And COC Part-Time Faculty United organizer Michael Ward's response: Dear Colleagues, There continues to be some confusion about the role of a partnership between the College of the Canyons adminstration with its CTA/ NEA - affiliated full-timers faculty orgainzation, and its deleterious effects on adjunct faculty there. As an adjunct faculty member at College of the Canyons and a member of the COC part-time organizing committee, I would like to clarify an important point with regard to the situation at COC. My point in condemning the actions of the College of the Canyons (full-time) Faculty Association (COCFA)/ CTA/ NEA is that they are working in conjunction with the the COC/ Santa Clarita Community College District administration in an effort to exploit our colleagues at that campus. After having denied membership in their organization for many (well over 20) years, they decided to subsume over 380 adjuncts into their organization against our will only after the part-timers' equity money became available from the state. Then they claimed to be our representatives. With the help of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT/ CFT) we complained to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and they backed our position. COCFA/ CTA/ NEA nevertheless resisted, despite their promises to abide by PERB's decision in that matter. At that point, PERB took the highly unusual step of taking our case to Judge David P. Yaffee of the Los Angeles Superior Court to seek an injunction, forcing the "Defendant Santa Clarita Community College District, College of the Canyons (District), cease and desist from recognizing the COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS FACULTY ASSOCIATION, CTA, NEA (CTA) as the exclusive representative for the District part-time faculty employees" (the full text of this ruling can be read on-line at http://home.att.net/~cocptsolidarity/cocptfu-historypage-mar2002.html). Following the issuance of the injunction, we then began to collect cards, and within a few short weeks we received the widespread support of the part-time faculty members. Our goal in doing this was simply to gain an election. Our hope is to have an election between AFT/ CFT and CTA/ NEA. If CTA doesn't attain the kind of support that we have so far enjoyed, then an election for AFT or no union will be just fine. But the COCFA/ CTA/ NEA and the district are doing their damnedest to keep an election from happening by submiting motions related to PERB's pending Unfair Labor Practice case against them, thereby putting off a final decision to a point after the September 23, 2002 expiration date of the injunction. If CTA/ NEA were so pro-part-time faculty, then they would back off from their fight against our attempt to win our democratic right to an election! Shame on them! As part-time faculty members at COC, we have followed the rules and acted in good faith. The COCFA/ CTA/ NEA in concert with COC/ Santa Clarita CCD have done everything in their power to thwart our efforts to gain an open election. THE ONE AND ONLY ISSUE is simple - FREE CHOICE! The COCFA/ CTA/ NEA have (like the district that supports them in Santa Clarita) been duplicitous and unethical. Since they have been quite vocal in their assertions regarding part-timers advocacy, this story (and the related account of what they are doing at Victor Valley Community College) needs to be heard; CTA/ NEA credibility is at stake. Read the history for yourselves. It can be found at http://home.att.net/~cocptsolidarity/cocptunited.html. I wish that we at COC had the luxury to issue flyers and notices to our colleagues about important issues of equity related to the "real enemies" of adjunct faculty. Right now, COC part-timers are being thwarted in their every effort by an affiliate of a union (CTA/ NEA) that claims to be in the best interests of adjuncts. They may have been the good guys elsewhere in the past, but not today in Santa Clarita and Victorville! They are indeed among the ranks of the "real enemies" of adjunct faculty at College of the Canyons and Victor Valley College. Sincerely, Michael
K. Ward
May 3, 2002 . . .the district [is] . . .deliberately [trying to] stall the [PERB] verdict til after the September 23 injunction expiration date. -- Linda Cushing The folowing email messages of congratulations were received by COC Part-Time Faculty United: Congratulations
on making history. So the feudal state is about to fall?
Caroline Blake and another: Right on, brothers and sisters! --charles johnson, yuba THANK YOU for your support! May 2, 2002 COC Part-Time Faculty United is pleased to announce that on Friday, April 26, 2002, the COC P-T Faculty United Core Organizing Committee served legal notice to COC President/ Santa Clarita CCD Superintendant Diane Van Hook, that a "Request for Recognition" based on "Majority [adjunct faculty] Support" has been filed with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). This is a major step toward our goal of putting together a viable and effective collective bargaining unit for adjunct faculty at College of the Canyons. We can now look forward to having an election! The actual date and time of such an event has yet to be determined based on rules set by PERB. It likely will happen in the fall. In the meantime, we continue to invite support from all of our part-time colleagues who are willing to sign cards as insurance against possible attempts by the Santa Clarita Community College District to keep adjunct faculty from having an election by disqualifying some cards or manipulating the numbers. So, the more cards that we can collect, the better, to ensure our likelihood of gaining a vote for self governance! May 1, 2002 The following email was received by COC Part-Time Faculty United, regarding our success in receiving enough card signature support from COC adjunct faculty to qualify for a vote for representation. Congratulations on your win!! Hope we can do the same soon. Arlene
Iftiger
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