Dear Community,

You know this: City College changes lives. City College is where the nurses, firefighters, custodians, & people who keep this city running get trained. It offers an affordable path to a degree to everyone. But inadequate funding has meant a 47% cut to City College offerings over the past 4 years.

The good news is that you have a chance right now to help change that by working to pass Proposition O & elect Vick Chung, Anita Martinez Susan Solomon, & Adolfo Velasquez for the City College Board. City College needs more investment & better leadership right now.

The corporate real estate industry has raised over $580k to oppose Proposition O and are running TV attack ads right now. They think they can buy this city. Let’s prove them wrong.

How? By talking to your friends & family on social media, in person, & by email.

1. Click here for catchy images on AFT 2121’s City College Voter Guide. Choose your favorite & download the image.

2. Go to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn–whichever platform you are using– and post your selected image along with 2 things:

• The #YesOnO hashtag. This is essential so AFT 2121 can reshare your message.
• Your version of this text: “Please vote #YesOnO & for these candidates for SF Community College Board: Vick Chung, Anita Martinez, Susan Solomon & Adolfo Velasquez because City College… [enter your reason]”

3. Studies show that posts and tweets with graphics get a much better response, & that it is necessary to keep posting to ensure people see & absorb your message. So be sure to:

• Include your image & hashtag #YesOnO
• Post at least 1 time a week until November 8

4. Don’t use social media? Click here for email language. Select all, copy, and then paste this language and image into an email & send that to all your friends & family in SF.

Join Your AFT 2121 Endorsed Trustee Candidate Fundraiser Tonight Monday at 5:30pm!

Tonight Monday 10/17 at 5:30pm at Casements Bar (2351 Mission St.), Vick Chung, Adolfo Velasquez, Susan Solomon, & Anita Martinez are holding a fundraiser for their races for the City College Board!

City College heroes Tom Ammiano, John Avalos, Peter Gallotta, Li Lovett, & Anabel Ibáñez will be on hand to host this essential event to win better leadership for CCSF.

Come ready to give so these candidates can win their races & provide the real leadership that City College students desperately need!

No RSVP needed- just show up! But if you cannot make it, make an investment in better leadership for your college here: https://linktr.ee/asv4ccsf

SF Educators “GO” All Out for Education! Propositions G & O Phonebanking Tmrw Tues 10/18 5:30-8:30pm w/ UESF, AFT 2121, & SEIU 1021

SF students need support now more than ever & that means passing Propositions G & O to more fully invest in our local public education system.

Join your fellow educators from UESF tomorrow night 5:30-8:30pm online or in-person to phonebank SF voters together & talk to them directly about why our local schools, K-12 & City College, need investment to ensure our students have the support and opportunities they need to recover, to learn, and to stay in this city and thrive.  Link here.

Virtual Phonebanking for SF Public Ed 5:30-8:30pm: https://aft.zoom.us/j/94671847907?pwd=SUNjbW9xbTBwa2RpbWNwanFJZ3BHdz09

In-Person Phonebanking for SF Public Ed 5:30-8:30pm: SEIU 1021 Office at 350 Rhode Island St (entrance is on 100 Kansas St.)

Love to Our Community for Last Night’s Heartbeat of City College Prop O Fundraiser

Last night was a beautiful celebration of the best of City College, and we would like to thank the staff, faculty, students, & community members who participated. Over 150 gathered for drinks, performances, and of course the film premiere of the Heartbeat of City College, CCSF instructor Tehmina Khan’s poem-turned-film. See a livestream of the event here.

Thank you to the California Nurses Association, Supervisor Dean Preston, Public Defender Mano Raju, Elizabeth Smith, & Guy de Primo who gave big at the event, and especially to the students from the CCSF theater, music, dance, and film departments, who made the night so special with their wonderful performances. Gratitude to the food and beverage donations from Laurie Hughes at Nana’s Pies, alumni Reene Hutchins (see on instagram here), Eduardo Antonio owner of Cafe de Olla & CCSF Culinary Alumni, David Hill Winery, and everyone who generously gave to the raffle. Our deepest appreciation to Lee Strawn and the songs of his CCSF music students, Patricia Miller and her inspired improvisational theater students, Lee Derrick and his masterful Ultimate Dance Alliance, and Tehmina Khan, Alexi Lacey, Wynn Newbery, and the entire Heartbeat of City College cast and crew.

Your passion, talent, and commitment helped the City College community raise $12,317 from over 130 donors last night. This money will be essential to funding the fight against the corporate real estate interests opposing Proposition O.

Now we encourage you to take the next step for City College by joining us in our upcoming voter mobilization events:

Sat. 10/15, 11am-2pm
District 9 Get out the Vote Mobilization Event for Prop O with AFT 2121 and SEIU
Meet at Dolores Park (19th St. and Church)

Sun. 10/16, 10am-1pm
District 9 Get out the Vote Mobilization Event for AFT 2121 Trustee Candidates & Props O, E, G & H with AFT 2121, the SF Labor Council, and the Latinx Democratic Club
Meet at Garfield Square Park (26th St. and Harrison)

Tues. 10/18, 5:30-8pm
Phone Banking to San Francisco Voters for Prop O and Prop G “GO all out for Education in SF!” with UESF + AFT 2121
In-person & Virtual Phone Banking – meet at 350 Rhode Island St. for in-person

RSVP for these and other upcoming events: https://bit.ly/ccsfWINS

Join Us Tmrw Thurs 10/13 at 6pm for an Evening of Film, Music, & Dance to Support City College & Prop O

City College’s crucial place in the life of San Francisco will be celebrated at 6 pm, Thursday evening, October 13 with the film premiere of Heartbeat of City College, CCSF instructor Tehmina Khan’s poem-turned-film [see trailer].

Musicians, dancers, and thespians – all trained at City College – will entertain and enlighten at this fundraiser for Proposition O. Complimentary small bites, drinks, and dessert will be served, and there will be a raffle with prizes highlighting the talents of CCSF staff and faculty. This is an outdoor event with temps in the mid-50s so bring your SF layers.

Proposition O is a progressive parcel tax, and it’s facing a huge war chest of opposition from corporate real estate interests seeking to maximize their profits at the expense of our students. This fundraiser is competing with a half million dollars of spending by its opposition, showcasing what’s at stake in the election: students’ needs versus corporate profits.

Show the corporate interests of this city that you will fight to ensure that San Franciscans get the accessible educational and workforce training opportunities they need to stay in this city & thrive. Donate & join our heartbeat: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sfwercs?refcode=email

Event Details
Film premiere of Heartbeat of City College and Prop O Fundraiser
Thursday, October 13 @ 6pm
Kapwa Gardens, 967 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Transportation: Powell Street Bart Station by 5th & Market, and Parking Garage at 5th & Mission

Remote vs. In-Person Update for Spring 2023      

Previously we reported that temporary remote will be allowed for Spring. Now we’ve learned more about how the college intends to implement that. Quick take-aways:

— Temporary remote will be permitted for Spring 2023. Enrollment in IOTL is NOT required. Your chairs may not know this; it looks like the communication from administration didn’t get to all of them or wasn’t clear.

— Administration intends to completely end temporary remote by Summer 2023.

— There are more training slots available for “fully-online” IOTL and AOTL, but we don’t know how many more.

— Although temporary remote will be permitted for one more semester, administration seems to be looking for ways to limit its use. Where possible, faculty should apply for formal accommodations. More about that below.

— The conversation is ongoing–expect changes.

Last Spring, David Martin agreed that chairs were best-positioned to know the needs of their programs, and therefore should be able to decide which assignments would be remote. Now he’s saying that chairs can only make these decisions “in consultation” with deans, essentially giving administration veto-power.

Martin acknowledged that some people will need to work remotely for health reasons. In a meeting with AFT and DCC leaders last Tuesday, he stated that “we would provide load” in those cases. But so far he insists that the need should be documented through a formal process with HR, like an accommodation. He seems to be asserting the power to force in-person assignments where there is no formal accommodation, although he didn’t say that directly.

What this adds up to is that remote assignments can be treated like any other location–we are not guaranteed our preference. If you believe that an assignment should be remote, talk to your chair and/or dean. Be prepared to explain how remote would serve students or your program. If you need to work remotely for health reasons, apply with HR now to avoid problems later.

COVID SAFETY SURVEY

Many of us are working in-person, and CCSF administration plans to end temporary remote by summer. Faculty have expressed concerns about COVID safety and inadequate facilities. We’re also hearing that some of the measures CCSF has taken are ineffective or outdated. PGC is likely to see proposals to change some of CCSF’s COVID safety policies.

It’s time to learn more about what AFT 2121 members need. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey.

CCSF Budget Update – Admin’s $$ shell game continues

The Board of Trustees approved their new budget for 2022-23 on September 15.

Even using the Admin’s numbers, there is currently over $20,000,000 cash reserve before the year begins. This reserve could have been used to prevent layoffs and class cuts.

In addition, this year the Chancellor and Trustees are choosing to misuse a whopping $19,350,000 of the college’s revenue instead of using it to support teaching and learning.  

Help elect new leadership to the Board of Trustees!!

Vote for Anita, Susan, Vick and Adolfo in November!

General Membership Meeting, Tuesday, 10/25

All AFT 2121 members are invited to participate in our Tuesday, October 25 General Membership Meeting from 3-5pm – meeting agenda here. To attend this meeting follow this link from your computer or smartphone OR call 1-669-900-6833 then follow the prompts to enter the meeting ID #810 1671 8065 and password: 783119.

Trustee Candidates Hurabiell and Yee are Blaming Faculty for Class Cuts & Attacking Prop O

Last week, Marie Hurabiell, a long-time republican and former Trump appointee, and Jill Yee, a retired CCSF administrator, appeared on a KGO radio show to co-promote their campaigns for Board of Trustees. During their spot, they attacked Prop O, asserted that City College has all the funding it needs, and claimed faculty are responsible for class cuts and falling enrollment. This week, they co-published an Op Ed in the Marina Times spreading falsehoods about Prop O, claiming “It was authored by AFT 2121 and does not reflect a consensus opinion regarding the priorities and direction of the college…This is a ploy to rehire faculty who were laid off and to reinstate the status quo, an irresponsibly managed institution.”

This is the latest in a series of outrageous claims the two candidates are using as they work together to bolster their campaigns and capitalize on SF’s wave of right-wing reaction that gained steam through last year’s billionaire backed recall elections. Despite being forced to walk back her anti-intellectual and racist attacks on Critical Race Theory (read KQED’s report), Marie Hurabiell is still using her social media to openly mock people with student debt and to express other views openly hostile to public higher education and the communities our college serves. Jill Yee’s anti-labor positions are familiar to anyone who attended Board of Trustee meetings during her tenure as administrator, and she is now running on an openly anti-labor platform, asserting a need to “take the college back from the unions” and uses her credentials at the college to spread falsehoods about City college’s funding, how Prop O was developed, and the causes of declining enrollment at the college.

These two have powerful endorsers with deep pockets, and we can expect more of this open hostility if either of them are elected to our Board. We cannot let that happen. Mail-in ballots have dropped (see your AFT 2121 voting guide here). Help us get the truth out about Prop O and let voters know that we have qualified, competent candidates running for our Board of Trustees who will stand by access to public higher education, labor, and for the communities City College serves: Anita Martinez, Vick Chung, Susan Solomon, and Adolfo Velasquez.

Sign up for upcoming mobilizations, including virtual phonebanking of voters tomorrow– Tues & Weds at 5pm, HERE.

Connect with our endorsed BOT candidates and show your support by donating and volunteering:

Visit Anita Susan and Vick’s campaign & social media links

Visit Adolfo’s campaign site

Co-Creating Group Agreements for Union Meetings

In an effort to improve our practice of centering diversity, equity, and inclusion or DEI within AFT 2121, please help us co-create an updated set of group agreements. This is an opportunity for our union to create agreements that we can adhere to during our union meetings, or in any space where we are discussing union actions, strategy, campaigns and sharing collective space.  

The purpose of co-creating these agreements is to strengthen our practice of DEI and social justice and make room for not just different identities, but a diversity of voices, building our own tolerance for different perspectives and navigating challenges in healthy ways. Please look at the following suggestions for group agreements on this form and also include your own ideas below. The results will be shared at future union meetings.  

Read more about the purpose of group agreements here. Fill out your form here.

Buy Your Ticket & Tell Your Friends to Do the Same–Prop O Fundraiser this Thursday 10/13 at 6pm!

The real estate industry has raised over $437k now to defeat Prop O, your historic City College funding measure. You should expect attack mailers soon, and that means this is moment to donate, come together, & fight back.

So help make Thursday’s Heartbeat event a success–invite your colleagues, friends, family, & community to join you in supporting Prop O & City College!

At the event, expect wine, small bites, a raffle, dance performances, and the premiere of the short film ‘The Heartbeat of City College,’ inspired by Tehmina Khan’s poem by the same name. RSVP for Thursday now & share widely: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sfwercs?refcode=email