Welcome to the NOVEMBER 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 information includes 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.  The names of Part-Time Faculty at COC (excepting the organizing committe) and VVC who authored some of the emails that follow are omitted to preserve their anonimity.

November 17, 2002
COC part-timers are OUTRAGED at the recent scurrilous actions of the COC administration and the COCFA!  DESPITE these actions against us, the court has granted us a reprieve.

Recently, we narrowly dodged a bullet intended to kill part-time faculty choice at College of the Canyons.  As you know, our original Unfair Labor Practice complaint filed with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) received an unfavorable recommendation by an Administrative Law Judge.  The ALJ’s “proposed decision” can become final only if it is not challenged, and we intend to vigorously challenge this proposed decision (please see the COC PTFU President's Message for more information on this issue).  This fight is not an easy one.  In the face of tough opposition, colleagues, know that we will not give up our fight for adjunct faculty rights, and the freedom to choose our own representation at COC!

Meanwhile, Judge Yaffee's of the L. A. County Superior Court has granted us an extension of the injunction that forbids the COC administration and its company union, the CTA-affiliated COC (full-time) Faculty Association from representing us, pending our appeal of the ALJ's proposed decision. 

Despite these developments, the CTA and the administration recently colluded to rid the college of the 3/5 of the part-time faculty that signed pro-AFT cards.  While there is no way for the administration to know who signed these cards, this action sought to eliminate most of our numbers by taking classes away from us in the name of state budget cuts.

Meanwhile the administration is apparently restoring classes cut from the part-time faculty under the pretext of budget cuts.  This is good news indeed!  It is also more than just coincidence that such activity began following the September 25 Santa Clarita Community College District/ COC Board of Trustees meeting, where in a closed session they met with their lawyers to discuss the Unfair Labor Practice complaint that COC Part-Time Faculty United and AFT filed with PERB.

We are outraged at he recent rounds of unscrupulous and opportunistic actions of the COC administration in concert with the CTA to hijack the part-time faculty.  It is obvious that these two entities will stop at nothing when it comes to finding ways to seize what they could not earn by a legal vote of the part-timers: the control of adjunct faculty decision-making now and in the future.  If they get their way, we will lose our freedom to choose, and we will lose our voice in matters that concern us at COC.  Moreover, the ramifications of this happening will direly impact adjunct faculty rights to self-determination statewide.  The real issues at COC have to do with freedom of choice, something that remains at the heart of the American values that we cherish, and something the CTA and the COC administration are evidently willing to obstruct. 

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Donn Ginoza issued his (unexpected) proposed decision in our unfair labor practice complaint against the Santa Clarita Community College District (College of the Canyons).  ALJ Ginoza's "proposed decision" does not support our complaint; for more details, see our "What's New" and September "History" pages.  Much depends on our abilty to secure an extension of the injunction forbidding the full-time faculty union (COCFA) from representing us.  Read AFT attorney Martin Fassler's arguments in support of such an extension at our "Documents Page" - and read COC Part-Time Faculty United/ AFT President Michael Ward's rebuttal to to COC Vice-president Phil Hartley's recent letter on our "Issues Page." 

This September 11th decision in our case is unfortunate to be sure, especially since it perpetuates a situation whereby COC part-timers are blocked from making our own free choice for union representation.  We collected signed cards for AFT from 3/5 of the adjunct faculty and have worked hard to build a strong part-timer organization.  The nature of the decision itself certainly lends itself to the idea of an appeal, something that appeals to COC part-timers who remain steadfastly opposed to the notion of being forced against their/ our will into the CTA.  Since roughly 1/3 of such rulings are overturned on appeal, this obviously bad ruling may need judicial review. 

The COC September 11th ruling serves only to deny democratic free choice for part-timers.

Famed labor-rights attorney Robert Bezemek calls for the appeal of the September 11th proposed decision:

In response to this bad ALJ decision, Robert Bezemek, California labor attorney best known to part-timers for winning the landmark 1989 Cervisi case granting unemployment benefits to part-time faculty between terms, states:

"I read the [ALJ's] decision, which is an abomination.  I think it can be reversed on appeal, and that it MUST be reversed."  In light of the possibilities for appeal, and recent union-busting tactics by the COC administration, we must remain strong and united, in expectation of a successful appeal.

COC President Van Hook boasts about the district's ability to handle increases in student enrollments:

The September 11, 2002 edition of the Los Angeles Times included an article titled "Enrollment Rising at State's 2-Year Colleges" wherin it was reported:

"Some fast-growing districts said that they can handle the extra students.  College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita expects to serve 13,700 students fall, up about 8% from last year and double the level of six years ago.  In that period, the number of class sections offered has risen from 682 to more than 1,600.  'We've built in a lot of capacity,' said Diane G. Van Hook, the college's superintendant-president."

Who is teaching in all these added "capacity" courses?  Certainly NOT part-timers!  As temporary part-time employees of the Santa Clarita Community College District, we are seen by the administration as an expendable and easily replaceable resource. The administration has recently been encouraging the expansion of full-time faculty overload; a quick examination of the current on-line schedule of classes will reveal many full-timers teaching 10 OR MORE 3-unit courses at COC alone!  This cannot be a good thing for the quality of intruction.  At the neighboring Ventura Community College District, the AFT Local 1828 long ago negotiated a contract that limits full-time overload to two classes only. 

The situation at COC is shameful and unfair.  It would be appropriate indeed for all of us to express our outrage by writing letters to the editor of the Times.  Send them to: Letters to the Editor, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angleles, CA 90012.  They can be faxed to (213) 237-7679.  By email, your letters should go to: letters@latimes.com. 

Despite these apparent setbacks, COC Part-Time Faculty United/ AFT is organizing! With the fall semester under way our organizing efforts are rapidly moving forward!  To this end COC Part-Time Faculty United/ AFT has assembled an executive committee!  Congratulations to COC P-T Faculty United's Mike Dixon for winning the part-time faculty seat on the COC Academic Senate!

November 13, 2002
The following email comes from the California Part-time Faculty Association listserv:

Linda Cushing:

A belated "well done" from one of your long time admirers.

Margaret Quan 

November 6, 2002
COC Part-Time Faculty United/ AFT congratulates Cerritos College and the American Federation of Teachers for their victory in finally organizing a faculty union!  Congratulations goes especially to the tireless efforts of AFT National Representative Linda Cushing for the Cerritos College victory!

Colleagues

Today the last remaining California community college district faculty without any union representation joined the AFT family.  Not only did full- and part-time faculty vote for AFT representation, the vote was a mandate.  Of 743 legal ballots cast, the union received 527 votes.  The Cerritos College unit is comprised of approximately 1020 faculty, with about 950 credit faculty and 70 non-credit faculty.

You may recall that there was a spirited contest before we filed for representation between AFT and CTA.  While AFT needed 50% plus one of all faculty to sign cards asking for AFT representation, CTA needed only 30% to intervene.  CTA was, however, unable to gain sufficient support to earn a place on the ballot.  We have within our organizing committee leadership several faculty members who had retained a professional membership in CTA.

Alarmed by the union slogan of "One Faculty", anti-union full-time faculty called the Concerned Faculty attempted to split full-time and part-time faculty.  They attempted to alarm full-timers by charging that the part-timers would get "their" money, and alleging part-time faculty would be paying dues of $35 or more a month.  Despite that, the Cerritos Faculty Federation - AFT garnered almost 71% of the votes!

I know your well wishes would be most welcome if you can take a moment to email the chair of the CFF-AFT Steering Committee, David Fabish, at dfabish@msn.com.  Cerritos faculty will be looking to CFT local leaders for support and guidance in the months and years ahead. 

Thanks to so many of you who volunteered your valuable time and energy to assist in this historic win.  Special thanks go to Marty Hittleman, Carl Friedlander, John McDowell, Bill McClatchey, Roy Latas, Robert Perrone, Andrew Cantrell, Luis Tovar, Forrest Nixon, Dennis Smith and the Los Rios Executive Board, and Sam Russo and the Adjunct Faculty United Executive Board for their special efforts and sacrifices on behalf of the Cerritos faculty. 

Your efforts helped give over 1000 faculty members a voice and the legal protections of collective bargaining.  They are part of over 6000 community college faculty who have joined AFT since spring 2000.

Linda Cushing