Voices from the Bargaining Table: Megan Sweeney on Last Week’s Session
I am a faculty member in the Social Sciences Department who is also a member of our AFT Bargaining Team. We had a session last Monday (9/25), and I wanted to share my perspective on the state of negotiations.
Frankly, I’m incredibly frustrated by the lack of substantive progress on the economic components of bargaining, namely our salaries and restoration. The district repeatedly has come to the table unprepared to bargain over economics. The district is stalling and does not appear to value faculty as dedicated professionals who tirelessly serve our students.
What happened at Monday’s session?
At last Monday’s session, AFT presented four counter-proposals with justifications for each. Chancellor Martin and his team, despite having a month to prepare, presented no proposals, only a “supposal” on the idea of a shorter one to two year agreement. The District also again failed to send a representative from their finance office and again their team was unprepared to have substantial discussion regarding the budget.
As a full-time faculty member and a mother of three children, my schedule is beyond busy right now. Yet I’m making time to prepare for bargaining and engage in this process because I know how important this is for my colleagues and students. It is disheartening to engage in this process with a counterparty that does not appear to value the dedication and professionalism of its faculty.
That’s why I’m calling on ALL faculty to turn out to the October 26th Board of Trustees meeting. We need to communicate loud and clear that the status quo is not acceptable.
Faculty have communicated that pay is their number one concern and AFT 2121’s bargaining team’s # 1 priority is raising faculty salaries to the Bay 10 median. See details here. Faculty need competitive wages to live in this expensive region during a period of record inflation and for the college to attract and retain faculty.
Please commit to attending the Board of Trustees meeting by by signing here: https://bit.ly/Oct26MUB. I will be there on October 26 and hope to see you there as well!
The Details:
Date: Thursday, October 26th
Time: 5 pm
Location: In front of East entrance of MUB building, Ocean Campus
Note: Faculty can plan to attend the Board meeting or join other faculty outside of the building
Please get this date in your calendar and plan to attend!
General Membership Meeting In Person @ Ocean Tuesday, 10/17, 3:30-5 PM
Come find out what is happening in bargaining for our next contract from members of your Bargaining Team and get ready for your October 26 Rally for a Fair Contract. Enough is enough–it’s time to take action for the fair contract we deserve. All members are encouraged to attend!
Tuesday 10/17: Committee on Political Education (12-1:30 PM) & General Membership Meeting (3:30-5pm). The room for the GMM is still TBD – we’ll update this space once the location is confirmed.
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