Rally Results, Mediation in Bargaining, & Another Unfair Labor Practice Filed

At last Thursday’s Rally for a Fair Contract jointly hosted by AFT 2121 & SEIU 1021, you, as faculty, demonstrated your unity and articulated your urgent needs.

The action was a success in communicating your collective power, generating positive press attention, launching your strike commitment card, and winning decisive action from the Trustees to support bargaining. All of this was the result of your visible power in numbers and the moving testimony from faculty across the college, from EMT to Math, on why a fair contract and competitive salary are so urgent for our families and programs.

As a result of your Rally:

• Your bargaining team is entering voluntary, pre-impasse mediation with the District to try to address sticking points in bargaining, and, at Thursday’s meeting, the Trustees decided to appoint up to three individual board members to the District’s bargaining team to participate in these mediation sessions. A major issue in bargaining has been that the District’s team lacks the authority needed to actually negotiate. But the Chancellor and his team bargain on behalf of Trustees, so we expect this issue to change. Mediation sessions will take place on November 6th and November 13th. AFT’s expectation is that the District will commit to bargaining in good faith during this process. To keep the District accountable, we have set a deadline for declaration of impasse of November 14th.  

• Positive press coverage of your demands for a fair contract and more competitive salaries: see stories in the SF Examiner, Mission Local, Sing Tao, and additional potential coverage to come from KQED and CalMatters.

Finally, we have an important update on bargaining.

• Chancellor Martin knowingly provided false information to your union regarding matters relevant to your contract negotiations. In response, AFT 2121 has filed another unfair labor practice. Unfortunately, the Chancellor opted to provide false and misleading information to AFT 2121 about the District’s OPEB (Retiree Health Care Fund) contributions, an issue central to negotiations over salaries among other economic topics in bargaining. It is a violation of labor law to “knowingly provide an exclusive representative with inaccurate information” about the District’s financial resources. See further details in a copy of AFT’s Unfair Labor Practice here.

Stay tuned for more details on mediation and the broader struggle to ensure CCSF leaders work to better support and lead our college.

Voices from the Bargaining Table: Jimmy Collins On Yesterday’s Session

I am a full-time faculty member in the PE & Dance Department, Head Football Coach, and member of our AFT Bargaining Team.

Being new to this role on the bargaining team, I have had the opportunity to form my own opinion. I am a true believer that there are two sides to every story, but it is very evident that the District is not interested in negotiating salaries. We had a session on Monday (10/23) and below are my impressions of where things stand.

What happened at Monday’s session?

About half of the session focused on the college’s budget–however, the District’s bargaining team was unwilling to provide the information needed to begin salary negotiations.

To my disappointment, the District did not make a counter to AFT’s last salary proposal and instead proposed that the parties enter ‘voluntary mediation.’ I wish the District proposed mediation months ago. AFT agreed to mediation on the condition that a deadline for an agreement be set, and if the deadline is not met, AFT will declare impasse (see what that is here).

What’s Next?

With impending mediation, our presence as faculty at the October 26th Board of Trustees meeting is more important than before. We need the District to see and know that our faculty is a unified group willing to fight for our common cause–HIGHER AND FAIR WAGES.

In the spring, faculty voiced to our union that our top overall priority is an increase in pay. We made it clear that we feel disrespected by our salaries. And now, with the college in the process of a leadership transition, it is time for us to stand together and make it clear to the District that we are united to fight together for the pay that we deserve.

Things have been tough for faculty, and we all have a variety of opinions as to why we are in the position we are currently in. However, we can all agree that now is the time to stand for a change that will impact this contract and all of the other contracts to follow. We are the gold standard of California Community Colleges, and as faculty, we deserve to be treated that way.

Let’s all join together on Thursday and make it clear that we need to be paid, and that we will fight until we receive a just and fair contract. See you all Thursday!

RSVP for Oct 26 here: https://bit.ly/Oct26MUB

The Details:
Date: Thursday, October 26th
Time: 5-7pm
Location: In front of East entrance of MUB building, Ocean Campus
Note: We will have audio broadcasting the Board of Trustees meeting to our Rally outside MUB. Supervisors, Press, students, community, & our classified staff allies SEIU 1021 will be on hand.

Open Bargaining Today Monday, 1:30-4:30 PM, Join in MUB 261 or on Zoom

Join us as your AFT 2121 Bargaining Team returns to the bargaining table with the District Monday, October 23, from 1:30pm-4:30 pm, in MUB 261. A Zoom option is also available–registration is required.

Your bargaining team continues to fight for more competitive salaries and a fair contract for all faculty. We urge Chancellor Martin and his administrative team to adopt the same goal since a fair contract for faculty is essential to improving morale and attracting and retaining the educational excellence that has long distinguished our school.

Use this link to register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You can use the same link for other bargaining sessions this fall.

Faculty are asking…

Q: What is happening at the bargaining table?
A: Sadly, not enough! Despite a commitment from Chancellor Martin and his team to wrap up bargaining last summer, there have been too few sessions, and too few answers to our proposals. At the last session, we were supposed to discuss the college’s budget, but the person–V.C. John Al-Amin–who developed the budget and has the knowledge necessary to meaningfully discuss it, chose not even to attend our session.

Q: What’s the point of this rally on Oct. 26th?
A: You need to show college leaders that faculty are ready to strike for a fair contract, competitive salaries, and respect. It’s been three years since you had a raise. This can’t go on. RSVP for the Rally this Thursday at 5pm at MUB: https://bit.ly/Oct26MUB