On Wednesday 6/15, our AFT 2121 bargaining team met with the District again. We tried to bargain over AFT’s proposals to extend health benefits and severance pay for our laid-off members. The District rejected our proposals without offering a counter-proposal, saying they were “too expensive”. When Alayna Fredricks pushed Clara Starr to define what the district thought was “too expensive”, Clara Starr and John al-Amin struggled to come up with an exact figure between $70,000 and $80,000. It was clear that, once again, the District had not done their homework or made any effort to cost out what the actual numbers would be. AFT 2121 Treasurer Clare Heimer noted items in the District budget that cost more than $80,000: copiers and printers, litigation, credit card fees, and interest payments. This puts into stark contrast how little regard the District has for employees who have devoted decades of their lives to service to the college.

When asked what concrete forms of assistance the District planned to offer laid-off faculty, Clara Starr replied that members could sign up for Covered California or COBRA. The District refuses to take any responsibility for the harm they have inflicted on our members due to unnecessary layoffs. Our AFT 2121 Secretary Robin Pugh made an impassioned appeal for how loss of health benefits is ruining the lives of our laid-off members, for whom the exorbitant cost of health care exacerbates the stress and vulnerability of unemployment. This, coming during the COVID pandemic, is unconscionable and speaks to the total lack of empathy and leadership from this administration and chancellor.

The District refused to offer any severance to laid-off faculty. AFT’s Executive Director Alayna Fredricks and members of the bargaining team pointed out that Mark Rocha, former chancellor of CCSF, was paid approximately $375,000 in severance plus health benefits, as well as being paid for accrued vacation time. This kind of heartless double standard shows the hypocrisy of this administration and their lack of commitment to the majority of hard-working employees.

It is clear, once again, that this District is not engaging in good faith bargaining. PERB has already found AFT’s Unfair Labor Practice charge to have merit, and this continued bad faith bargaining will only add to the charge.

When asked about future bargaining sessions, Clara Starr remarked that perhaps next week, Wednesday June 22nd, should be the LAST bargaining session as she is planning on going on vacation. Clearly, AFT 2121 will continue to demand that we bargain. This unwillingness to engage in good faith bargaining as well as the overall tone of the past few bargaining sessions speaks to the noticeable shift towards the de-emphasizing and deterioration of labor relations since David Martin took over as CCSF Chancellor in November. The District must come to the table and engage in serious good faith bargaining. Meanwhile, AFT 2121 will pursue every avenue both within bargaining and through other means to pursue justice for our members and defend our college in light of these inhumane assaults.

Kick off Success for San Francisco Workforce Education Reinvestment in Community Success Act (SF WERCS)!

Thanks to all who came out on Saturday to help launch our signature gathering campaign!  We had more than 100 people roll through and more than 60 volunteers taking nearly 200 petitions into the streets!  If you haven’t signed up for a volunteer shift it is not too late!  Please use this link (https://bit.ly/ccsfREVENUE) to RSVP for an upcoming shift.  The groundwork has been laid and our momentum is building, but we can’t make this a reality without your support!  Come out and help us make the dream of a fully funded City College a reality for our students!  

Received your packet in the mail and not quite ready to hit the streets? Watch this video and get your questions on signature gathering answered. Or join half-hour Zoom training this Wednesday @ 5:30 or Sunday @ 5pm. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/training4WERCS Either way, get out there, invite voters to invest in City College , and have fun! 

​SF WERCS FACTSHEET​

​

Dear AFT Members,

Yesterday, June 8, your bargaining team attempted to negotiate with the district over the impacts of the recent devastating layoffs. Lead negotiator, Alayna Fredricks, began with this statement (click here to read in full).

Your bargaining team worked together to create proposals on severance pay, health benefits, educational benefits, access to district resources, reappointment/recall rights, over-payments & load balance, and retirement.

The district team came unprepared to bargain over any of these issues. In fact, their chief negotiator, Clara Starr appears to have little to no authority to negotiate or hold her team accountable. For example, VC of finance John al-Amin failed to provide basic financial information in advance of the meeting and couldn’t provide or review anything during the meeting because he was busy driving during high-stakes labor negotiations.

Since David Martin arrived at the college, labor relations have completely deteriorated. The Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) recently upheld AFT’s Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claim alleging bad faith negotiations over salary restoration. Despite this, the District yesterday continued its pattern of bad faith bargaining. The District appears to be taking no corrective action and their behavior yesterday is cause for another Unfair Labor Practice.

The District would not concretely commit to respond to our proposals and outstanding Requests for Information (RFIs), including data on how much the district is saving due to the layoffs. They claim to need over three weeks to produce basic payroll data on the savings produced by layoffs–a clear signal that the decision to drastically downsize our college was not mandated by budgetary concerns.

We call on the district to bargain in good faith. We call on the trustees, who are David Martin’s employer (not the other way around) to reverse the layoffs and preserve the promise of accessible higher education in San Francisco.

Please join us for our next confirmed session on Wednesday, June 15, at 3pm, and our tentative session on Monday, June 13, at 3:30pm . Will their charade continue? Come see for yourselves.

Upcoming Layoffs Impacts Open Bargaining Dates:

Tentative date: Monday, June 13, 3:30 pm
Definite date: Wednesday, June 15, 3:00 pm

Register for either session in advance:   https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlcOGvrTIoE9QQXg30yz7wzJ52rVy7Z1zm

You only need to register once for any summer bargaining session!

​Signature Gathering Kick-off Dolores Park, Saturday, June 11th @ 11AM 

New AFT 2121 President Mary Bravewoman invites you, San Francisco voters and friends of City College, to join her, the Revenue Unity Coalition, and AFT 2121 mascot Dolly dog this Saturday, 6/11, at Dolores Park at 11AM for your signature gathering kick-off!  

We’ve having a ton of fun talking to voters at amazing locations around the City since Thursday and there are plenty of volunteer shifts to join. Pick your favorite area of the City, talk to some nice folks, and help us secure the future of affordable, quality education in San Francisco!  Sign up now to start talking to voters about City College, & encourage all of your colleagues, friends, families, & peers to join you! RSVP: https://bit.ly/ccsfREVENUE

Signature gathering runs till July 10. Shifts are generally 4pm-8pm on the weekdays and 10am-1pm & 1-4pm on the weekends. Each shift will begin with a short training, and focus on a strategic location from parks to groceries stores to Sunday streets.​

​Open Bargaining scheduled for Wednesday 6/8 @ 3:00 p.m.

Your Bargaining Team is back at the table to negotiate over the impacts of the devastating layoffs that the Board of Trustees approved on May 6. 

We will be meeting with the District on Wednesday, June 8, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Please plan to attend this session to show the administration that AFT members are here to support our colleagues and are paying attention. The chancellor chose to make severe departmental cuts after the last day of the semester. But we’re not sleeping over the summer – we’re fighting back! 

All AFT members are encouraged to register in advance to attend this open bargaining session: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlcOGvrTIoE9QQXg30yz7wzJ52rVy7Z1zm 

Facing the loss of employer provided benefits is hugely stressful. Chancellor Martin has chosen to add this burden to the hundreds of faculty members grappling with the ramifications of losing their jobs. Like so many of Chancellor Martin’s decisions, this one is unconscionable and callous.

But it shouldn’t mean that you lose medical insurance entirely–join your colleagues Tuesday, June 7, 9-10am on this zoom to learn about your healthcare options moving forward.

What’s the difference between Cobra and Covered California? How do I decide, and what are the deadlines? Let’s get together to answer these questions and make sure you have the information you need to take action and sign up for continuation of coverage.

So much about health insurance depends on your individual situation and needs, but we’ll discuss how to tackle learning enough about the various options to make an informed decision and ensure that you don’t have a lapse in medical coverage.

​Adding insult to injury: Brace for increased funding amidst Martin’s devastating second round of cuts to the fall schedule 

State Investments: The Governors May Revise proposes substantial investments in the California Community College System. While this is not yet the final budget, it indicates a clear intent to substantially support colleges with both ongoing and one-time funds. These numbers are subject to the budget process and may change, but AFT estimates that at least 33 million in one time funding will be allocated to CCSF, over 10 million of which will be discretionary (i.e. a blank check). Additionally, the COLA has been increased to 6.56% resulting in a total of over 9 million dollars in ongoing unrestricted funding. Further, the state proposes to eliminate the “fiscal cliff” by converting the hold harmless provision into a permanent funding floor. With tens of millions in new state revenue, there is simply no budget rationale for layoffs that will devastate the schedule and programs. 

A tale of two budgets:  AFT has long held that this year’s budget contains inverted priorities and a slew of errant projections. Budget priorities are within the District’s power to manipulate, but errant projections are matters of fact that are clarified over time. And when the time comes for Trustees to face the facts behind the District’s errant projections, they will have a responsibility to act. AFT has prepared this video and factsheet for trustees– what will Trustees do in the face of a funding reality that disputes the devastating actions they have just sanctioned? 

In the face of corrected projections, rebounding local funding and historic state investments, Martin refuses to change course to protect students and programs. He has spent too much of his political capital to permanently eliminate Full Time faculty positions. Will trustees sink their political capital into blindly supporting this Chancellor’s fatal plan?