Enhanced COVID Sick Leave: March 2020-December 2022: Revised

AFT reached an agreement with the District in September 2020 that every faculty member who was assigned in-person from March 17, 2020 through Fall 2022 earned sick leave at 1.5x the normal accrual rate. It took a long drawn-out grievance and the beginnings of a formal arbitration process to get the District to follow through on this agreement, but we finally have an MOU on COVID sick leave. See details on the MOU here.

This MOU represents another common sense win for our community: it will increase faculty morale and in turn improve student learning. Increased COVID sick leave for faculty who worked in-person in the midst of a global pandemic was a means of supporting those faculty and their families, and keeping our community safe.

The District has committed to calculating the leave, but the method they are using has been confusing and inconsistent. If you worked in-person at any time from March 17, 2020 – December 2022, talk to your chair and make sure they know the hours. Part-time faculty, counselors, librarians, and non-credit instructors should report hours, even if you are also asked to report a percentage of load.

Unemployment Benefits for Summer

Part-time faculty who don’t have summer assignments or sufficient income from other work are entitled to unemployment benefits over summer break. Even if you’re pretty sure you’ll have an assignment in Fall, you are still eligible. You are considered unemployed until that assignment actually starts, since the assignment isn’t guaranteed.

Apply as soon as possible on or after your last day of work. Your application is retroactive only to the Sunday of the week in which you apply.

When you apply for benefits, you must report your earnings. Remember that all assignments except subbing and office hours are now paid by load. Web4 paystubs still list hours and hourly rates, but those rates are misleading. You were not paid hourly, except for subbing and office hours.

For detailed information about how to calculate your earnings and apply for unemployment, see the AFT 2121 unemployment page.

AFT End-of-Semester Celebration Tonight Wednesday at El Rio (3158 Mission St.) 6:30pm-8:30pm

Before everyone heads out for the summer, let’s celebrate all your hard work and successes from this semester, from making progress in bargaining for the fair contract and restored wages you deserve, to winning our Unfair Labor Practice against the District, to expanding part-time faculty healthcare while also saving the District money, to the unanimous passing of a Resolution calling for the reversal of layoffs last May.

Let’s raise a glass to these successes and more–to the students who inspired us, to your colleagues who stepped forward in support of a better college, and to our whole community as we work together to restore our mission and revitalize our college! And let’s do all this at AFT’s End-of-Semester Party today Wednesday, May 24 6:30-8:30 @ El Rio (3158 Mission St). There’ll be chips, salsa, burritos, drinks, and Drag Bingo.

See you there!

Dear City College Community,

It’s a new day for City College. As part of a grassroots movement for change, you–our community–worked together to propel three new City College Trustees to office in November, and very early Friday morning, we all got to see again why elections matter.

Susan Solomon and Anita Martinez’s Resolution to Rehire Laid Off Faculty (see here) passed unanimously, marking a new direction for our college. No longer will our leaders accept a downward cycle of cuts that leave the students of San Francisco behind. Meeting community demand–that again is our mission.

You can see AFT’s Media Release for the event here, watch video of the discussion and public comment here, and listen to Susan Solomon and student activist and Veteran Lawanda Liggons discussing this Resolution and its impact on our college tonight on KPFA here.

A huge thanks to all of the community allies and local leaders who joined students, staff, and faculty in speaking Thursday at the Board meeting in favor of this Resolution: Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) Chair Honey Mahogany, SF Labor Council Executive Director Kim Tavaglione, DCCC Committee Member Gloria Berry, SF Firefighters Local 798 Secretary Adam Wood, California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas, UESF President Cassondra Curiel, Harvey Milk Club Executive Board Member Sue Englander, and Chinese for Affirmative Action staff leaders Sally Chen & Crystal Van.

The decision to lay off 38 tenured and tenure track faculty one year ago meant that impacted departments this year were unable to add classes and services for students who needed them. From English as a Second Language to Computer Networking, vital City College programs turned away thousands of students this year–a travesty.

But this Resolution brings hope: it establishes the expectation that Chancellor David Martin will rehire laid off faculty as soon as possible and deliver a plan to do so at the next Board meeting June 22. We look forward to supporting the Board and the City College administration in implementing this plan. In the words of Board President Alan Wong, “This is a moment to redeem ourselves.”

It is a moment to build a college that is capable of meeting San Francisco’s demand for new skills, better jobs, and hope. As the union of City College’s teachers, counselors, and librarians, we’re all in.

AFT 2121

Dear City College Community,

As the current President of the faculty union of AFT 2121, a former member of CCSF’s chapter of SEIU 1021, a proud graduate of and now teacher at City College, I have promising news to share: at the Board of Trustees meeting this evening at 4:30pm, Susan Solomon and Anita Martinez are proposing a Resolution to Rehire Laid Off Faculty that promises to restore the mission of City College. See full resolution here.

From English as a Second Language to Computer Networking, vital programs throughout our college have turned away thousands of students this year due to the layoffs and course cuts made last May. As you well know, these layoffs and cuts were a continuation of a downward spiral that has caused real harm to our students and city. Over the past four years, CCSF has cut 44% of its offerings, and, as a result, we’ve lost 43% of our students, a decline that threatens the financial stability of our college and undermines our mission.

Thankfully, Trustees Solomon and Martinez have answered the call of voters for change at City College. In November, I joined many of you on the streets knocking on doors talking to voters, and, as we saw at the ballot box, the voters of San Francisco want change at City College.

The voters of San Francisco want a fully staffed Counseling Center for Veterans at City College. The voters of San Francisco want fully staffed Biotech and Computer Networking programs at City College, so students of color, immigrants, and working-class San Franciscans have an accessible pathway into our local tech industry.

The voters of San Francisco want CCSF’s Trustees to stop the downsizing and start the growing: enrollment growth and meeting community demand. It’s what the students of San Francisco deserve, and it is what community organizations, labor unions, and elected leaders throughout the city will ensure they get in coming elections.

I’ll be knocking on doors to support Trustee candidates who stand with City College students, and I know you’ll be right there with me. Stay tuned for news on tonight’s vote, and thank you for your solidarity.  

In Unity,

AFT 2121 President Mary Bravewoman

From the Bargaining Table

Your bargaining team has been making some progress in its negotiations for a stronger college.

• The team made new proposals, including a 15-student minimum class size in Article 18, protections from ghost-student-induced class cuts, higher rates for clinical labs, and a work modality proposal to allow faculty to do their remote work from any location.
• AFT and the District signed a TA accepting gender neutral language changes throughout our contract. This was made possible by Jesse Kolber and Pau Crego, who took the initiative to comb through the entire contract. Thank you to Jesse and Pau! You can see all proposals and TAs here.

However, on our major economic interests, the story is different. Chancellor Martin’s team finally responded to part of AFT’s economic package proposal. However, they did not have any counter to our salary proposal. Instead, they said they would not commit to any increased staffing, FTEF, or to restore laid-off FT faculty. This is not a recipe for enrollment growth or for meeting community demand.

AFT is negotiating for a college that has the staffing needed to serve our students and city. The thousands of students we turned away this year are a tragic testament to the need for more support, and that is what we intend to achieve.

At the Board of Trustees meeting tomorrow at 4:30pm in MUB 140, CCSF’s Trustees will vote on a Resolution to rehire laid-off faculty (see Resolution here). This is a crucial step to increasing enrollment and ensuring the long term financial viability of our school.

A contingent of local leaders will join students and faculty from impacted departments to speak in favor of this resolution. We encourage you to attend in person and show your support for these speakers, and for a City College capable of again meeting San Francisco’s demand for new skills, better jobs, and hope. BOT Meeting: Thursday, May 18th, beginning at 4:30.

Our next bargaining session will be Tuesday, 5/23. More dates will be posted on the AFT 2121 Calendar. Please join us! Open Bargaining: Tuesday, 5/23, 2:30-5. Ocean Campus, MUB 261

ENHANCED COVID SICK LEAVE: March 2020-December 2022

It took a long drawn-out grievance and the beginnings of a formal arbitration process, but we finally have an MOU on COVID sick leave!

That original agreement was signed on 9/1/2020, guaranteeing that faculty who worked in person during the shut-down would receive 1.5x the normal sick leave accrual. The District has attempted to stop the accruals multiple times since then, sometimes by negotiating and sometimes by simply stopping unilaterally. This new agreement locks in an ending date, December 2022, and commits the District to calculating the leave for all faculty by this summer.

If you worked in-person at any time from March 17, 2020 – December 2022, talk to your chair and make sure they know the hours. They might have the information already, but it’s good to make sure. Your chair will need to report the correct hours to HR.

“Layoffs Restored” Resolution & Petition Delivery Thursday 5/18 at the Board of Trustees Meeting

On Thursday, May 18, the first round of departments taking action for a fair contract will deliver their Photo Petitions to the Board of Trustees, who at the same meeting will be considering a “Layoffs Restored” resolution submitted by Trustees Susan Solomon, first, and Anita Martinez, second. See the full Resolution here.

Invoking the mission of our college, Trustees Solomon and Martinez highlight the devastating impact of last May’s layoffs and propose a new forward-looking vision of enrollment growth for our college. For too long, CCSF has been in a downward spiral of downsizing. As the Resolution states, “from 2017/2018 to 2021/2022…CCSF suffered an enrollment decline of 43%,” yet “CCSF cut course offerings over that period from 7,877 sections to 4,382 sections which represents a 44% decline in offerings.” As faculty and students in impacted departments know well, the layoffs last May were a continuation of this cycle, and Trustees Solomon and Martinez are calling for a solution.

The first step is to recall the full time tenured and tenure track faculty laid off last May (see Resolution’s conclusion), a move that will allow departments across the college to open new sections as needed, so they can again meet community demand for new skills, better jobs, and hope. This is the path to CCSF’s financial stability and to restoring our mission as a college.

This Resolution marks a new direction for our college, and on Thursday, a contingent of local leaders will join students and faculty from impacted departments to speak in favor of it.

Bargaining and Delegate Assembly Overlap Tuesday, May 16th

On Thursday, your bargaining team was offered another time to negotiate with the District, which conflicts with the last DA meeting of the semester. We’re encouraging all delegates to pivot from attending DA to attending open bargaining from 2-5 pm, MUB 261. If you are unable to attend in person, you can still join the DA meeting via Zoom.  

Submit Parking Reimbursement Requests by May 31

Under your current contract, you are eligible for partial reimbursement of your 2022-2023 parking fees at the Chinatown, Mission, and Downtown Campus. See Mission form here, Chinatown form here, & Downtown form here for more details, and see your Parking Reimbursement Worksheet here.

• Faculty members are eligible to have up to 50% of their parking costs reimbursed until the fund is depleted.

• If there are not sufficient funds to pay for a 50% reimbursement, each faculty member participating in the program will receive the same (lesser) percentage reimbursement.

• Only receipts for parking on assigned working days during the time the faculty member is actually working at the campus (Mission, Chinatown, & Downtown) will be eligible for reimbursement. You must list your teaching/work hours and submit receipts in chronological order for those items.

You have until May 31, 2023 to return your original receipts, worksheets and spreadsheets. There are several ways to get them to us. 1) Alison Datz at Chinatown campus and Carolyn Cox at Mission. 2) Interoffice mail to AFT 2121 3) USPS – AFT 2121, PO Box 951595, San Francisco, CA 94159.

If you have any questions, you can call Wendy Leung 415-585-2121.