Dear City College Community,
Hundreds of City College community members picketed and rallied last night outside the Board of Trustees meeting to send a very loud and clear message to CCSF leaders: the era of locking San Francisco’s students out of City College’s essential classes and services is over. City College is the largest and most accessible source for workforce training and higher ed degrees in San Francisco. And last night, the faculty (AFT 2121) and staff (SEIU 1021) unions of City College made clear that we are ready to strike to defend our mission: to change lives. See initial coverage of the event in Mission Local and Sing Tao.
Thank you to all of the students and community leaders who stood with City College last night: Cassondra Curiel of UESF, CCSF Student Chancellor Malinalli Villalobos, President of CFT Jeff Freitas, Honey Mahogany and Peter Gallotta of the DCCC, Kim Tavaglione of SF Labor Council, Jobs with Justice, Supervisor Candidate Jackie Fielder, and Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Dean Preston.
In public comment last night at the Board’s meeting, we heard from CCSF Nursing faculty who reported that they’ve had to cut their enrollment by over 20% due to short staffing. We learned of an EMT program that should be expanded, of a Construction Management program that needs greater support, and of a Chemistry Department so devastated by cuts that it was unable to provide the prerequisite courses students need to become the Radiologists, Nurses, and healthcare professionals of tomorrow.
The good news is that you, our community, elected new Trustees, and that City College has the budget necessary to settle its contracts with faculty and staff. Now is the moment to stabilize and grow our college in order to expand opportunity for all those San Franciscans who need it.
CCSF Faculty: last night your colleagues launched strike commitment cards. It has been three years since you’ve had a raise, and this is putting vital programs at risk. San Francisco students deserve the best in their educators, and City College faculty deserve to be treated fairly for their work. Sign your AFT 2121 Strike Commitment Card today, and do not lose hope: https://bit.ly/
This is a turning point, and we will not go backwards.
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