What will you do? | We stand with SF Pre K-12 educators

Posted on February 4, 2021 by AFT 2121

What will you do? Defending our college and winning the contract we need

We’ve been moving from crisis to crisis for so long – at work, at home, in the country, in the world – that it’s hard to imagine a time when it will slow down so that we can address any individual crisis effectively. On top of this pandemic, on top of new work realities, on top of attempted coups, we now must negotiate our Collective Bargaining Agreement (contract) with a broke District and try to squeeze out some dignity from Administrators with humanity-blinders on to anything but the bottom budget line in front of them. Wage cuts? Class cuts? Layoffs? It’s so bleak, what could any of us do in the face of it?

None of us can do it alone, which is why unions were formed in the first place. When you are feeling powerless and demoralized, your union is the place to build that power back up and resist these indignities — together with your colleagues. Fortunately, AFT 2121 has a history of making the change we all envision for our college: Beating back the ACCJC! Prop A! Free City! Saving classes and securing health care for laid off part timers during a pandemic! We have a track record of showing our collective strength and moving a behemoth bureaucracy in a more sensible and community-driven direction. And it’s time for us to gather our strength and step up again.

We need all of you to take the following actions right now:

Talk to your precint rep to fill out your Bargaining Survey: this is step 1 of getting plugged into our campaign for a new contract. Don’t have a bargaining survey? Your precinct rep has a copy for you. If you don’t have a rep write our new organizer Spencer (sjackson@aft2121.org).
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RSVP to attend a Bargaining Listening Session. Your bargaining team needs to hear from you: your concerns, questions, and priorities. So join members of your team at one of our sessions next week: Mon 2/8, from 12-1pm, Tues 2/9 from 9-10am, Weds 2/10 from 10-11am & 6-7pm, and Thurs 2/11 from 12-1pm. Particular departments are coming as a group to particular sessions, but we want everyone to have a chance to participate, so all sessions are open. Reps are working to add more sessions so you can also talk to your precint rep about helping organize a listening session for your precinct.
Do your Union Photo Booth! Make a sign and take a picture of yourself, in an AFT t-shirt if you have one, to post to social media. Let Admin and our community know: “SF’s COVID recovery depends on educators. Underfunding is the enemy. #SaveOurCCSF” Then send it to aft@aft2121.org and we’ll make a huge virtual wall of solidarity and pride!

A fair contract isn’t given to us, we must fight for it! We can ask for fair pay, for equity amongst faculty, for reasonable workloads and class sizes – but that’s not enough to get it. We can ask really really hard and have serious faces on, and that’s still not enough.

We get there by pitching in and sticking together. What will you do this month, this semester, over the summer, to help secure the contract you need? To build the college our students deserve?

The Bargaining Team represents us at the table, but the responsibility for winning the contract we need is shared by ALL OF US. We all need to step up and fight for it TOGETHER.

We stand with the unions of SFUSD and the San Francisco Labor Council

Wednesday’s headlines proclaimed that the City of San Francisco has taken the unprecedented step of suing its own K-12 school district to force schools to open up for in-person learning. Instead of working with labor and community to ensure real safety, the City has chosen grandstanding.

We all want schools to re-open. But pushing past what is safe helps no one. As a union, we stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the K-12 schools who are organizing literally to save lives. The United Educators of San Francisco, the union representing K-12 educators, is currently at the bargaining table negotiating to ensure safety for students and workers. Along with the SF Labor Council, they released this statement explaining the situation.

At CCSF, we have less pressure to return without safety measures. Our administration is moving to bring back some classes and programs face-to-face, but there’s a planning process and most programs are still remote. Many could still be remote in Fall, although that’s not definite yet. Talk to your chair about what makes sense for your classes and programs.

Please see AFT 2121’s return-to-campus page for updates.
You can also review this recent Return to Campus presentation by Robin Pugh, our newest grievance officer.
We’ve developed a rubric to help evaluate safety. It can be used on reading the plan, during a walkthrough, or later as you’re working. The rubric is a google form, and you can use it to report conditions to AFT 2121. This is separate from feedback you might want to give to your chair, dean, or administrator.

If the safety plan isn’t sufficient, or if something goes wrong with implementation of the plan, DO NOT PUT YOURSELF AT RISK. Tell your chair immediately and also report to your precinct rep. AFT 2121 can represent you.

As we review these plans, we’ve seen a wide range of conditions. Some plans are excellent and the faculty feel safe and protected. Some have been problematic. In a few cases, the plans are good but implementation is faulty. To get involved meet with your precinct rep to discuss the plans or contact Tehmina Kahn (tkhan@aft2121.org) to help.