(URGENT, 6/22 @4pm) Special Board of Trustee Meeting on Chancellor Search

Urgent Call to Action: A Special BOT Meeting to appoint an Interim Chancellor will be held at 4:00 pm today Tuesday, 6/22 (no résumés posted yet).

We have sacrificed to save our classes and our college for the sake of our students and our community. It is imperative that our Trustees honor this commitment by selecting an interim Chancellor who shares our commitment to protecting and growing our college. So we encourage everyone to attend the meeting at 4pm today and to share your thoughts on why our Trustees need to select a new kind of Chancellor, one who will lead the fight for growing CCSF.

Zoom: https://ccsf-edu.zoom.us/s/95092459049

Phone Number: 415 762 9988 or 669 900 6833 ID: 9509 2459 049

Requests to make public comment must be submitted by 3:30pm to publiccomment@ccsf.edu or via phone to: 669.444.1266. Include name, meeting name & date, agenda item number, and phone number if participating by phone.

AFT 2121 Chancellor Search Series: https://twitter.com/AFT2121

(Thurs. 6/24 @ 9am) Special COPE vote on opposing Chesa Boudin Recall

Your union is hosting a special COPE meeting for AFT 2121 members on Thursday 6/24 at 9:00 am and will be taking a vote on whether to oppose the recall of Chesa Boudin as District Attorney.

To attend go to this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87551341568?pwd=bEQwSjVJYVg0S0puRGh0UzR0QkNIZz09 or dial 669-900-6833 and enter the passcode 566388.

(Fri. 6/25, 10am & all day) Board of Supervisors City Budget Meeting

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors need to hear from you this Friday about why they should include CCSF in the budget for the coming year and find a sustainable long-term solution to CCSF’s ongoing budget crisis. CCSF is a majority student of color pillar of San Francisco, and just like our K-12 systems, it is under-funded and needs local support. With our one-year salary agreement, we have sacrificed to give our City’s leaders a year to find a long term funding solution for our community, and now we need them to step up and support CCSF.  

Because sharing public comments in Board of Supervisors meetings is onerous, we encourage you to submit a 1 minute video by Thursday at 3pm (share your story here). Fellow faculty leaders will share your video with the Board on Friday. Record your story by clicking on the plus sign under question 1 here: https://hope.xyz/ccsf

The hard truth is there will continue to be a serious gap between what the state is willing to provide and what San Francisco’s residents need. From accessible programs in Registered Nursing & Computer Networking to ESL & Dance, San Franciscans count on City College, and City College needs local support to meet this local demand.  

When it comes to our K-12 schools, San Francisco’s voters and leaders have recognized and addressed the problem of under-funding from the state. The Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF), established in 2004 and extended in 2014, ensures that San Francisco’s general fund be used to fill in the gap between what the State provides and our City needs.

It is time for San Francisco to make the same sort of investment in its Community College. Without it, City College will continue to move from crisis to crisis and ultimately fail to meet the needs of San Franciscans. We can’t let that happen.  

Take Action

• By Thurs. 6/24 @ 3pm: Record a 1 minute video to provide testimony by this and it will be submitted to the City Clerk’s office to be entered into the public record: https://hope.xyz/ccsf

• Fri. 6/25 beginning at 10am & going all day

  • Join the Budget Justice Coalition watch party and spend the day with your fellow members and our allies all advocating for a just City budget on Zoom.

  • Call in individually 1 (415) 655-0001 / Meeting ID: 146 586 5393 # #

  • WATCH SF Cable Channel 26, 78 or 99 (depending on provider) or at www.sfgovtv.org

Meeting Agenda for 6/25/21

Budget Rally & Compassionate Alternative Response Team (CART) Rally

This Thursday, 6/24 at 11:30am join members of the Budget Justice Coalition on the steps of SF City Hall (Goodlett Pl Side) as we rally for a people’s budget and demand that the City divest from policing and invest in the Compassionate Alternative Response Team. (Wellness kits will be distributed during the event)

San Francisco needs a compassionate community-based street response to homelessness and a just budget that reflects the needs of the community! #BudgetJusticeRally

Facebook event page

Can’t come to the action? You can help by following these coalitions on social media:

• BJC on Facebook

• BJC on Twitter

• CART on Facebook

• CART on Twitter

(6/18) SF Labor Council affirmation of BLM and API solidarity

San Francisco Labor Council
Affirmation of BLM and API solidarity
From Vincent Chin to George Floyd
39th Anniversary of Vincent Chin

Join a Noontime Rally at Portsmouth Square for a celebration of peace, love, and lessons learned on Friday, June 18th. The event will be socially distanced and masked.

Sponsored by: Rainbow/PUSH

Cameron House, Chinatown Community Development Center, Chinese Culture Center with community activists, The San Francisco Rainbow Coalition (1984,1988), Asian Americans for Justice (1982)

(6/24) Special COPE vote on opposing Chesa Boudin Recall

Your union is hosting a special COPE meeting for AFT 2121 members on Thursday 6/24 at 9:00 am and will be taking a vote on whether to oppose the recall of Chesa Boudin as District Attorney.

To attend go to this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87551341568?pwd=bEQwSjVJYVg0S0puRGh0UzR0QkNIZz09 or dial 669-900-6833 and enter the passcode 566388.

PDF Class Schedule now online!

You worked with students to make your voices heard and here’s what happened: CCSF’s new class schedule page now has links to searchable, browsable PDF schedules. The District says the schedules will be updated each week as the schedules change.

Congratulations to all the dedicated activists who made this happen!

New payscales

We’ve posted the new payscales for this coming year. One bit of good news is that summer assignments will be paid on the old, 2020-2021 payscale, not the new payscale.

— June 2021 is entirely paid on the Spring 2021 payscales.
— July 2021 summer assignments for both PT and FT faculty will be paid on the Spring 2021 payscales.
— July 2021 subbing will be paid at the new Fall rate.
— July 2021 base pay for FT faculty will be paid at the new Fall rate.

Tech Reimbursement – Finally!

Back in February, the District agreed to reimburse faculty for tech expenses we racked up working remotely. But implementation has been difficult and spotty. After pressure from your grievance team and from rank-and-file faculty, the District has now clarified a form and a method. 

If you applied earlier and were turned down inappropriately, reapply ASAP. If you were prevented from applying, do it now! The sooner the better, since the District is trying to close the books for the year.

Use this form. We know, the form is designed for travel reimbursement. It’s awkward, but that’s the one they want us to use. You must include a receipt. The form says it must be the “original” receipt, but that makes no sense for online purchases. Just include a receipt showing the purchase, such as a credit card receipt or a screenshot showing the amount and a confirmation it was paid.

Send it in one email message to your chair, your dean, and IT (helpdesk@ccsf.edu).

Our February announcement describes what expenses are eligible for reimbursement. You can also check out the agreement itself.​

Unfair Labor Practice: CCSF tries to implement invented residency rule

In April, Tom Boegel claimed that there is a state policy barring the college from assigning instructors who are physically out of state. AFT 2121 researched and found that there is no such state policy. We think the administration may have misinterpreted a policy requiring students to reside in California.

In spite of AFT 2121’s research, some administrators have moved to enforce this supposed policy, bumping faculty out of assignments. AFT first addressed it through our grievance process, but the college refused to change direction. We next filed an unfair labor practice charge, demanding that the college reverse the policy and restore assignments.

Administration has now agreed to discuss it with AFT. We expect this to be resolved soon, and adjustments will be made to the Fall schedule.

Labor in Pride

Join your union and the San Francisco Labor Council during Pride month in honoring Allan Baird, labor organizer and gay rights activist who lead the 1973 boycott of Coors Brewing which resulted in Teamsters providing hiring protections for openly gay drivers.

Meet Friday, June 25 @12pm under the large rainbow flag at Castro & Market. Walk a few blocks to hear Baird at his home where there’ll be a brief ceremony celebrating his successes and advancements in gay rights within labor.

Dear Members,

CCSF is looking for a chancellor. But our Board of Trustees doesn’t simply post a help wanted sign on Craigslist, or even in education journals. They hired a consultant to conduct the search — the same consultant who brought us Mark Rocha and Rajen Vurdien. (The consultant is for the permanent position. For the interim, the BOT is just doing the search themselves.)

We deserve better than this. We need a chancellor who believes in the community part of the community college mission, who will stand up for our students and our programs. We need someone who will create real transparency and take real input, not just mouth words about it. We need someone committed to growth.

Last week, AFT 2121 and Academic Senate both passed resolutions recommending Anita Martinez for interim chancellor. See the Resolution on College Leadership, passed by our Delegate Assembly on 5/25/21.

Anita Martinez has been a consistent advocate for expanding access to public higher education her whole life. She is the kind of Chancellor that City College needs. You and your colleagues have been sharing this message in 1 on 1 meetings with Trustees over the past several weeks. Your political director, Adele Failes-Carpenter, has been leading these meetings and communicating the values our community needs in its next Chancellor in her other contacts with Trustees.

Your communications team has been reinforcing these lobbying efforts with an ongoing social media campaign to pressure CCSF’s Trustees to choose a Chancellor like Anita Martinez. See our Twitter profile on Anita Martinez here, our look at Don Griffin as another example of the kind of Chancellor we need, and finally a trailer from our upcoming video poem ‘The Heartbeat of City College’ based on the work of the brilliant Tehmina Khan.

San Francisco deserves a Chancellor who will be the heartbeat of City College.  

Sean Monterrosa Memorial Block Party Saturday 12pm

Please join in a community celebration honoring the life of Sean Monterrosa, former CCSF student murdered by Vallejo police just over one year ago (June 2). From the organizers: “Tucan was Sean’s artist moniker, and we’re celebrating him the way he would’ve wanted – by bringing community together and building solidarity to fight for change.”

Family Friendly Community Event with low riders, music, live performances, art, food, games and much more. All COVID precautions will take place and the organizers request attendees wear masks.

RSVP at bit.ly/tucansweekend

2nd Annual Tucan’s Day Block Party

Saturday, June 5th

12-5pm

Bernal Heights, Park Street between Mission and Holly Park circle

(street will be blocked off, so no street parking)

In Solidarity,

Malaika Finkelstein

President, AFT 2121

Reminder: End of semester Picnic Monday May 31 11am-3pm

It’s been a hard semester and an even harder year. We deserve a picnic. Join your fellow faculty and their friends, family, children, partners, and pets for a festive COVID-safe get together tomorrow Monday 11am-3pm in Golden Gate Park. Bring a mask, good cheer, chair or picnic blanket, water bottle & snacks. We’ll provide pandemic-friendly & portioned burritos, chips & salsa, drinks, & dessert. And yes fun! All are invited so the more the merrier.

Enrollment postcards win!

An important update on your push to get the College to mail postcards to San Francisco residents promoting our courses for the fall.

You and your colleagues have been pushing the administration for weeks on this issue and facing obstacles. In response, your President and Vice-President met with other CCSF constituency groups to discuss how to move the matter forward and then met as a group with Chancellor Vurdien to bring up the need for the college to promote City College and build our enrollment. You all supported this meeting with continued lobbying of CCSF’s Trustees and targeted social media posts highlighting the enrollment campaigns underway at other nearby community colleges. All of this had an impact.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Vurdien informed your union leadership team that the College will be printing and mailing postcards to San Francisco residents. The budget for this effort indicates the College is serious about reaching out to all of the amazing communities we serve. The design for the postcards should be approved by Friday, and printing and mailing should begin next week or the week after.

This is a testament to the power you and your colleagues have when you stand together as a union. Organizing is hard but it works, so let’s keep it up.

End of semester picnic

It’s been a hard semester. Spring 2021 saw us mostly through a pandemic. We survived attacks on our jobs, our mission, classes, and programs. We stood by our values and each other for our colleagues, our students, and the college SF deserves. Admittedly, this came at a high cost. So while there’s much to celebrate, there’s also a need to commiserate.

Join your union siblings this weekend in Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park. Kvetch over food & drinks. Banter over bocce & toast each other’s successes. Bring a mask, chair or picnic blanket, water bottle & snacks. We’ll provide pandemic-friendly & portioned burritos, chips & salsa, drinks, & dessert. Friends, family & pets welcome!

• RSVP here
• Directions to Hellman Hollow (Tables #17-18)

Unemployment workshops

Reminder! California Federation of Teacher (CFT) is holding Unemployment Insurance Workshops and Office Hours this week to inform you all about the process of applying for unemployment insurance and answer any of your questions/provide support in navigating the process.

Remember, ALL Part-Time Faculty can file for unemployment when you experience a reduction in work. So PT Librarian, Counselors, Coaches, etc can file and should file for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Plus there is an additional $300 benefit that will be added to UI awards starting April 17th until September. So you could get up to $750 a week.

Come to these sessions to learn more.

Unemployment Insurance Workshop:

• Thursday, May 27th 4-5:30pm
  RSVP​

Office Hours (ask questions and get support in filling out the application):

• Thursday, May 27th 2-3pm
  RSVP
  ​
• Friday, May 28th 11am-12pm
  RSVP​

E-Benefits letter

You may have received a letter from HR about “e-benefits”. Your colleagues working as grievance officers have talked to HR about it, and you do not need to take any action yet. The letter is only a notification that HSS has a new e-Benefits system, and during the next Fall open enrollment period you’ll be able to use it to sign up or make changes in benefits plans.

HR is also asking each of you to verify your emergency contact information. You’ll need to check your records in Web4 and make corrections if needed. But if you received the hard copy letter, you already know they have the correct address.

Office hours overpayment

There was a data entry mistake early in the semester. If you work part-time you may have been accidentally overpaid for Fall 2020 office hours. If you were overpaid, you may have already received a letter about it.

You can check to see how much your office hour pay should have been by looking at our payscales and our office hours page. If you need help understanding the letter, respond to the letter and payroll can help you. If you disagree with the letter or the amount, you can appeal.