AFT Local 1603 -
AFL/CIO
500 East Eighth Street,
Suite B
Oakland, CA
94606-2825
Phone (510)
763-8820 - Fax (510) 763-1140
Email: union@pft1603.org
Office Hours: Mon-Fri.
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Greetings
Faculty,
As
the 07-08 academic year is drawing to close, I
have begun to reflect on the PFT’s
accomplishments this year and the challenges remaining.
The
accomplishments have been bountiful:
1. The completion of
the 25 Step Salary Schedule
2. Two additional
steps for hourly/extra service were added to the pro-rata schedule and
fully funded.
3. Part-time faculty
can work intersession without counting towards probationary status,
allowing part-timers to work more if they so choose.
4. Retaining office
hours and medical benefits for part-time faculty despite likely state
budget cuts coming in 08-09.
5. Increase of
Department Chair allotment for instructional faculty; no chair shall
receive less than a .1 assignment
6. 4.53% COLA pass
through for the entire faculty
7. Ensuring that the
past practice of allowing medically necessary chiropractic and
acupuncture treatments continue to be paid via our medical insurance.
8. Gaining greater
protections for faculty members that have been named in Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Fair Employment and
Housing complaints.
9. Successfully
resolving a variety of individual faculty member’s problems
10. Participating and
working with other unions, student organizations and community groups
on issues such as the state budget, legislation, and social justice
causes that directly impact the community colleges and/or our community
at large.
11. Improving
communication with the membership by scheduling college chapter
meetings and meetings specifically for part-time faculty throughout the
year.
The
PFT’s work on behalf of the faculty is a
collaborative effort involving a PFT college representative, one or
more of the officers of the PFT, and/or our office staff. It truly
takes a village to advocate for the faculty, and we’ll need that kind
of effort to help resolve some of the challenges we face in the years
to come.
There
is the state budget crisis which looms over all Californians and will
ultimately impact all of us in a variety of ways. While the PFT will
continue to advocate for more full time hires, we know the current
budget proposals reduce our chances for success. We also know that when
the District states that they currently plan no lay offs for
next year, they are not talking about the part-time faculty who may not
be hired back. The constant injustices part time faculty face is an
on-going concern and challenge for the PFT. How will we help bring
parity to our part-time faculty? We made baby steps this last year and
a half, but clearly much more needs to be done. Furthermore, as the
State cuts back on money for community colleges, we must be sure
part-timers continue to get paid for office hours and their 50-50
health care benefits.
Another
challenge has surfaced in our work with the Board of Trustees Board
Policy Review Committee. We have been very concerned about the union’s
right to communicate with our membership via our mailboxes and .edu email. Currently the General Counsel of the
District argues that the PFT cannot distribute any materials to faculty
that promote or endorse political positions or candidates. We believe
this is a violation of union and faculty rights. We do not want
the District censoring our mail and will continue to argue and fight
for our right to freedom of speech. In addition, we are challenged by
the existing two tier health benefits for full time faculty. We managed
to have the District agree to begin exploring the possibility of
providing wrap-around health care packages for the post-2004 hires upon
their retirement.
We
also need to develop new union leadership. We need members to
become more involved. Pay raises, working conditions, benefits, health
and safety concerns and your every day quality of life as a teacher in
the Peralta Colleges are all tied directly to the work of the
union. The people that are active in the union are the people
that set its priorities and direction, so it is important that faculty
participate in union events.
I
know that all of you have worked hard this year by giving to your
departments, colleges and the students while facing your own
challenges; one more thing like being involved in your union may seem
like too much, but it is necessary and good work. This will be a
crucial year to be involved with the Union
since we will be setting the goals and priorities for the 2009-2012 contract. I really hope to see you as the PFT comes around again in the fall to ask the faculty
what concerns and issues they want to see addressed in the next
contract. This will be your opportunity to have input into your working
conditions and benefits for the next few years. I hope to see you
at chapter meetings, membership meetings, PFT Executive
Councils, and PFT parties. I hope to see you reading
the Peralta Teacher or other communications we send. I hope to engage
with you as individuals and as department members. I want to work with
you and for you.
In
the meanwhile, I hope the summer provides you with a little time to
refresh and relax.
In unity,
Debby
Weintraub
PFT
President
pftpresident1603@yahoo.com
LINKS!
LOCAL
PFT/PCCD Agreement for 2003-2007
Peralta
Community College District
PCCD Faculty Job Board
"Peralta
Issues" Yahoo! Newsgroup
Alameda
County Central Labor Council
STATE
California
Federation of Teachers
Faculty Association of California
Community Colleges
California Part-Time Faculty Association
California State Teachers Retirement
System
California Labor Federation
NATIONAL
American
Federation of Teachers
US Labor Against the War
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