Welcome to the MAY 2003 History Page of
 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. 

In the face of unprecedented state budget cuts that are raising student fees and decreasing student access to services, College of the Canyons is wasting taxpayers’ money by HIRING EXPENSIVE LAWYERS TO FIGHT ITS OWN PART-TIME FACULTY for the past 17 months. COC is attempting to deprive part-time faculty of exercising their own legal and democratic right to form their own union. 

COC has been trying to force part-time faculty into a union of ITS choosing, not that of its employees – and this is AGAINST THE LAW.   60% of all part-time faculty signed petition cards a year ago to trigger an open and free election. Subsequent to that the state Public Employment Relations Board ruled that COC had failed to remain neutral and had ILLEGALLY INTERFERED with its employees’ right to freely form their own union. Despite public promises that they would abide by the state decision, in February COC took the extraordinary step of filing an appeal with the State Court of Appeals – a legal maneuver that ironically CONTINUES to interfere with part-time faculty’s right to organize! COC’s strategy is designed to stretch things out for years, hoping their vulnerable part-time temporary employees will giver in and give up their legal right to organize – and all the while the college law firm’s meter is running.

So far, the COC Trustees have NOT TAKEN AN OPEN AND PUBLIC VOTE, apparently allowing administrators to make this decision for them. To their credit, the Board of Trustees has agreed to discuss this issue publicly at its next meeting, Wednesday, May 14 at 6:30 PM in the Building S Private Dining Room. Part-time faculty are asking the Trustees to be held ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF THE COLLEGE by publicly voting to end COC’s appeal. We invite the community to attend this meeting. Rather than to fight its own teachers and throw money away in protracted and wrongheaded legal actions, all the while cutting course offerings, College of the Canyons should be spending taxpayer money on keeping as many STUDENT CLASSROOMS OPEN as possible.

Meanwhile, Dianne Van Hook remains one of the highest paid community college administrators in the state, at a rate of $230,000 per year (or $19,167 per month, not including perks).  Meanwhile, her salary increase of $18,000 per year, approved by the board of trustees last month comes during the worst state budget crisis in history!  In light of such apparent expressions of personal greed, and the fact that she is leading the charge against part-time faculty rights, Van Hook’s priorities are obviously unconnected with her primary duty of ensuring access to quality education to the community of Santa Clarita.

The continued effort by the Santa Clarita Community College Board of Trustees and the Administration of College of the Canyons to deny part-time faculty the right to choose its own union representation is deplorable. In early January, the California State Public Employment Relations Board issued its final decision supporting our right, as part-time faculty, to choose our own part-time faculty union through a legal vote. 

Unfortunately, the Board of Trustees supported COC President Diane Van Hook in her decision to appeal PERB’s ruling to the California State Court of Appeals.  If they did not fully support this action, at least no trustee has spoken out publicly to oppose it.  

At the very least, the Van Hook Appeal postpones the just cause of an election for part-time faculty union representation, and at worst it amounts to a simple denial of democratic free choice; either way, the Van Hook Appeal is morally and ethically wrong, and betrays the best principles of American democracy, and the public’s trust as well.

The district's actions in theVan Hook Appeal are a gross betrayal of the public's trust - in this time of budget crisis in the state, why do they continue to waste the taxpayer's money in frivolous legal expenditures?

Meanwhile, the CTA/COCFA (full-time faculty union) is frantically attempting to portray itself as an old friend of the part-time faculty.  It is obvious, however, that nothing substantial has changed since they attempted to illegally force us into their organization in the fall of 2001; they do not want us, and they count on us to fail in our attempt to organize!  They are wrong!  Please read Beverly Cope's complete notes by clicking on the following link for  "Notes on the March 4, 2003 CTA/ COCFA Meeting" (see ISSUES/ REBUTTAL #16).