Dear Members,

Berkeley City College and Skyline College are sending out postcards to residents to promote their free classes and build enrollment. Why isn’t City College of San Francisco doing the same?

We need to see our administration do more to promote and grow CCSF. Other colleges are launching sophisticated digital and print media campaigns to reach their communities (see for example Skyline’s ‘Here For You’ Campaign). AFT 2121 is working to pressure CCSF’s administration to follow suit, including mailing a postcard advertising fall enrollment to every San Franciscan. Our communities–immigrants, the disabled, POC, older adults, the laid off or underemployed–need to know that CCSF is here for them.

Contact the Board of Trustees and encourage them to ensure that our administration prioritizes growing our enrollment through a robust digital and print campaign.

Join Striking Nurses at Chinese Hospital for a Virtual Rally Tues May 25 at 6pm

When CCSF’s Registered Nursing Program was facing a 50% cut to its enrollment, CNA nurses showed up. They helped make our Save CCSF Nursing Press Conference a success. Now they’re striking. CNA Nurses at Chinese Hospital are striking for safer patient care and for additional support for their hospital, a critical and under-resourced part of San Francisco’s Chinese community.

They’re holding a virtual rally tomorrow Tuesday May 25 at 6pm. Put on your AFT 2121 t-shirt if you have one and join them on Zoom: let’s show our City that teachers and nurses are standing as one in the fight to protect critical public resources for the public good.

Link for rally Tuesday 5/25 at 6pm is here: www.bit.ly/ChineseHospital-Strike-Rally-May25

All AFT 2121 members are invited to participate in our next Delegate Assembly rescheduled from today May 18 to Tuesday May 25 from 3-5pm.

Delegate Assembly, Tuesday, 5/25 from 3-5pm

AGENDA

AMENDED DRAFT RESOLUTION

DRAFT MINUTES

To attend 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.

(5/19 & 5/20) CFT State Budget Actions: More funding for our community colleges!

Remember!

Our state affiliate, the California Federation of Teachers, has launched an online campaign urging Governor Newsom and legislators to provide greater funding to community colleges in the upcoming budget.

Let’s keep up organizing for funding by taking the following 2 actions this week:
(RSVP by emailing vbachelor@cft.org)

1. Public Comment at an Assembly Budget Committee Hearing Wednesday, May 19th
   We need you to share your ‘Me Too’ statements at the Assembly budget committee hearing. The statements will be short, 30sec to a minute, and CFT staff will provide talking points. The comments will be sometime between 10am-1pm, and CFT organizers will text you when the comment is beginning.
   
   

2. Thursday, May 20th: Mass Outreach to Key Lawmakers
   
   Community College union members are coming together Thursday afternoon to phone bank key legislators, write personalized letters, and post on social media.

RSVP for these actions now by emailing Valerie Bachelor at vbachelor@cft.org.

Chancellor pay

The Board of Trustees has decided to pull the proposal to raise Chancellor Vurdien’s pay by 23% from the agenda for this Thursday’s meeting at 3pm on this link. This is the right decision–the proposal was frankly obscene. It undermined the credibility of our Trustees (see the Chronicle’s coverage here), and of our collective fight to save our college. We are glad the Trustees reversed course.

(5/18 & 5/20) CFT led actions: More funding for our community colleges!

With our recent impacts agreement, we volunteered to sacrifice our salary to keep our classes and programming open. That’s not a long term solution for our college. San Francisco deserves a community college that meets the needs of its residents, and that means ongoing support on the local and state level.

Our state affiliate, the California Federation of Teachers, has launched an online campaign urging Governor Newsom and legislators to provide greater funding to community colleges in the upcoming budget.

Let’s keep up organizing for funding by taking the following 3 actions this week:
(RSVP by emailing vbachelor@cft.org)

1. Public Comment at a Senate Budget Committee Hearing Tuesday, May 18th and Assembly Budget Committee Hearing Wednesday, May 19th
   
   We need local leaders and members to offer ‘Me Too’ statements at the Senate budget committee hearing. The statements will be short, 30sec to a minute, and CFT can provide talking points. The comments will be sometime between 10am-1pm, and CFT staff will text you when the comment is beginning.
   
   

2. Thursday, May 20th: Mass Outreach to Key Lawmakers
   
   Community College union members are coming together Thursday afternoon to phone bank key legislators, write personalized letters, and post on social media.

RSVP for these actions now by emailing CFT Lead Organizer Valerie Bachelor at vbachelor@cft.org. The Governor has to finalize his budget by June 30, so it’s essential we share our stories on why community colleges are essential and deserve added state support.

Finally, CFT just launched an online campaign urging Governor Newsom and legislators to fully fund community colleges in the upcoming budget by extending the SCCF hold harmless provision, expanding COLA, eliminating deferrals, and ending the wasteful expense of CalBright. Sign the online letter.

(5/18, 3:30-4:30pm) Emergency member meeting

This Tuesday, 5/18 from 3:30-4:30pm is a special meeting for AFT 2121 members to discuss the recent proposal to raise Chancellor Vurdien’s pay by 23%, while faculty took 4-11% pay cuts for the sake of our students and our college.

Because our bylaws require advance notice for resolutions or voting, this cannot be an official general membership meeting. No resolutions can be introduced and no voting can take place. This is an opportunity for discussion.

To attend go to this link https://aft.zoom.us/j/3145027798 or dial 669-900-6833 and enter the Meeting ID: 314 502 7798.

(5/20, 3pm) Board of Trustees

The BOT is ready to hear our anger, so let’s do this differently. Let’s make a light hearted demonstration of a serious point: accountability. We need our Trustees to hold admin accountable, and that means no more $420,000 a year salaries for Chancellors while faculty take pay cuts. Our political leaders, our students, and our community need to see a well run CCSF that is transparent, accountable, and honest. That’s what we need to protect and grow our college.

So here’s a suggestion for public comment: “Hello, BOT, I’ve heard you’re looking for a chancellor! Here are my qualifications, here’s why I’d do a better job than what you have now, and here’s how much money you could save hiring me instead.” You don’t have to actually be applying, but it would make a fantastic point if the BOT heard a string of qualified people, one after another, giving this kind of comment. Have fun with this! Extend it to other administrative positions as well.

Sign up for public comment by 2:30 the day of the meeting. Email publiccomment@ccsf.edu or call 669.444.1266

Zoom: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/91340113747
Phone Number: 415 762 9988 or 669 900 6833 ID: 9134 0113 747
Agenda: https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/ccsf/Board.nsf/Public

(5/25, 3-5pm) Delegate Assembly

All AFT 2121 members are welcome to attend. Agenda will be sent out this week.
Join Zoom Meeting

To attend go to this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81016718065?pwd=UFk0SzdUY2FLdXdLL2RLZW1wdnhRZz09 or dial 669-900-6833 and enter the Meeting ID: 810 1671 8065 and Passcode: 783119

Fall schedule: Why are there still cuts?

While most eyes have been on the issue of our Chancellor’s pay, faculty also have urgent concerns about Fall schedules. What did our agreement protect? Why are my classes still being cut? Will I have an assignment? Why are departments being made to beg for FTEF?

The short answer: Because the fight continues.

Our agreement guarantees a minimum 520 FTEF for Fall instructional assignments – not as much as we’d like but a giant step forward in our bargaining strength. Last Fall, the instructional FTEF was 582, not counting the Student Services Division. We still have work to do to get more FTEF into the departments to preserve classes and programs, but a guaranteed FTEF this high is a step forward.

Of that 62 possible FTEF cut, 46 have already been absorbed by retiring and resigning full-time faculty. Some of the 16 remaining FTEF will be taken up by retiring and resigning part-time faculty. We don’t know their workloads, so it’s harder to calculate the exact effect. Attrition without replacement is clearly terrible for our college, but it does not result in layoffs or reduced load.

Our agreement also guarantees 100% of Fall 2020 FTEF in Students Services. There should be no cuts in Counseling, Library, DSPS, EOPS, or anywhere else in Student Services compared to Fall 2020. It looks like Vice Chancellor Tom Boegel is attempting to get around that by cutting classes from Student Services, treating them like part of the instructional side of the agreement. However, the signed agreement unambiguously states there shall be no cuts in the “Student Services Division.” This is another fight we have in front of us.

About those numbers

There has been a lot of confusion and people still have questions about the Tentative Agreement. In case you missed it, you can find the real numbers in Friday’s email news. The top of the page, about Vurdien’s threatened raise, is now outdated, but the second section has details of our agreement.

Interim Chancellor Pay Raise

This is obscene: the college is proposing a raise for Interim Chancellor Vurdien. Faculty just made a huge sacrifice so that our college would remain open and accessible for our students.

No chancellor who has an ethical bone in his body would accept such a raise.

No ethical elected leader or college employee would accept a chancellor who did so.

Our Board of Trustees will vote on this on Thursday 5/20. You can find the agenda here: https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/ccsf/Board.nsf/Public

About those Numbers…

On May 11th, the District put out a press release attempting to explain the one-year agreement we just signed. Unfortunately, this memo caused a lot of confusion. We’re hoping this message can clear it up.

When we began bargaining, the District claimed they were facing a $35 million shortfall. Through extensive budget analysis, we were able to show the number was considerably less. We agreed at the bargaining table to negotiate based on an expected shortfall of about $22 million. These figures are all projections of what we expect to happen next year, so exact reporting is impossible.

Finances are normally divided between employee groups, each group taking a “proportionate share.” Faculty’s share has generally been 59%. So of the $22 million, the faculty proportion is about $13 million. The agreement we crafted did not address the shares of other employee groups, only our own $13 million.

Of that $13 million, a large piece has already been absorbed by faculty retirements. What remains is about $9 million, which our agreement achieves.

This balances part of the budget – the share that is faculty’s responsibility. It does not deepen our shortfall. It protects our reserves. It does not create any danger from accreditors or auditors.

What happens to our pay

— This agreement applies to all faculty, FT and PT
— The cut applies AFTER step increases. All faculty who are due a step increase get that increase first, then the cut is applied.
— The cut is 4-11%
— The first 30,000 of your income is not exempted. Part-timers who make $30,000 or less will still experience a cut. The confusion around this comes from the method used to make this a progressive cut. You will see other numbers in the agreement itself because we had to spell out the formula. The overall effect is a 4-11% cut, nothing exempted.

What happens next

However, this is a one-year agreement. It plugs an immediate hole, but there will still be a need for ongoing funding so that CCSF can continue to serve students and provide the kinds of educational opportunities that San Franciscans deserve.

We expect that the shortfall will be further mitigated below the $22M. We expect additional revenue on the horizon, including state COLA and local sales tax. Our agreement commits the union and the District to go back to the table to confer over that money.

All of this starts with San Francisco’s leaders recognizing that City College is a local treasure. 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.  

— Call and write Mayor London Breed and San Francisco’s Supervisors to let them know why you think they should expand WERF to support CCSF. Find contact information and further background here: http://bit.ly/SAVECCSF

— Tell California’s leaders to invest in community colleges. Write a letter here.

(Today, 5/13, 5-6:30pm) Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All

Click Here to Register
CCSF’s working-class students, staff, and faculty are facing the threat of massive class cuts and layoffs – only a few years after the sustained labor and community campaign that pulled the school through its accreditation crisis and won free tuition. Join us for a panel discussion to learn about the corporate agenda behind the attacks on the college, and how lessons from the 2012-17 organizing campaign can help us further the fight for liberatory education at CCSF and beyond.

Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All
Thursday, 5/13 from 5-6:30pm
Click Here to Register

Panelists:

• Co-authors of Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All Marcy Rein, Mickey Ellinger, and Vicki Legion
• EK, member of the CCSF Collective
• Beatriz Herrera, AFT 2121.

Moderated by Jason Ferreira, CPE Community Advisory Board member and Associate Professor in the Dept. of Race and Resistance Studies at SF State University.

Accessibility Information
Spanish interpretation and English-language live captioning will be available. To request other accessibility supports, please email us at center@politicaleducation.org by Wednesday, May 5.

California will be losing one seat in the House of Representatives based on preliminary 2020 Census data. In California, the process for drawing district lines is done by a commission. Join Commissioner Patricia Sinay for a presentation on the redistricting process and find out how you can be involved. The presentation and subsequent Q&A will be for educational purposes only.

(Today, 5/13, 5-6:30pm) Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All

Click Here to Register
CCSF’s working-class students, staff, and faculty are facing the threat of massive class cuts and layoffs – only a few years after the sustained labor and community campaign that pulled the school through its accreditation crisis and won free tuition. Join us for a panel discussion to learn about the corporate agenda behind the attacks on the college, and how lessons from the 2012-17 organizing campaign can help us further the fight for liberatory education at CCSF and beyond.

Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All
Thursday, 5/13 from 5-6:30pm
Click Here to Register

Panelists:

• Co-authors of Free City! The Fight for San Francisco’s City College and Education for All Marcy Rein, Mickey Ellinger, and Vicki Legion
• EK, member of the CCSF Collective
• Beatriz Herrera, AFT 2121.

Moderated by Jason Ferreira, CPE Community Advisory Board member and Associate Professor in the Dept. of Race and Resistance Studies at SF State University.

Accessibility Information
Spanish interpretation and English-language live captioning will be available. To request other accessibility supports, please email us at center@politicaleducation.org by Wednesday, May 5.

California will be losing one seat in the House of Representatives based on preliminary 2020 Census data. In California, the process for drawing district lines is done by a commission. Join Commissioner Patricia Sinay for a presentation on the redistricting process and find out how you can be involved. The presentation and subsequent Q&A will be for educational purposes only.