What's New
AFT 1493 endorses oil extraction tax
AFT Local 1493's Executive Committee voted at its May 8, 2013 meeting to endore the California Modernization and Economic Development (CMED) Act. The CMED Act will provide between 2 and 2.5 billion dollars in revenue from the implementation of a 9.5% extraction tax on oil and natural gas. California is the only state in the Union that does not charge a significant tax on the oil and natural gas that's extracted from the state and sold on the global market.
Academic Calendar Survey
Click here to complete AFT 1493's Academic Calendar Survey.
(Officially closes May 3, but deadline has been slightly extended.)
Performance Evaluation Task Force (PETF)
The Performance Evaluation Task Force (PETF) was formed at the end of the Spring 2012 semester to review, evaluate, and revise the procedures and instruments currently in use for all levels of instructional and non-instructional faculty evaluation. Elizabeth Terzakis 
(English, Cañada), Lezlee Ware (Political Science, Cañada), Nina L. Floro (English, Skyline) and Tania Beliz (Biology, CSM) [from left to right in photo] were selected jointly by the District Academic Senate and AFT 1493 to serve as the PETF faculty members. District-appointed members of the Task Force include Regina Stanback Stroud, President of Skyline College, and Harry Joel, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Employee Relations.
In the News
News articles related to community college faculty issues and SMCCCD, selected from around the county, state and nation and updated regularly. To receive these articles by email, send a request to be added to the AFT 1493 email list to Dan Kaplan at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
May 14, 2013— For California colleges, governor calls for tuition freezes and drops proposal for unit caps (San Jose Mercury News)
May 13, 2013— MOOCs and Community Colleges (Inside HigerEd)
May 10, 2013— OP-ED: Reject two-tier community college system (San Mateo Daily Journal)
May 7, 2013— High Schools Set Up Community-College Students to Fail, Report Says (Chronicle of Higher Education)
May 2, 2013— Why Professors at San Jose State Won't Use a Harvard Professor's MOOC (Chronicle of Higher Education)
May 1, 2013— Faculty vs. Accreditor (Inside HigerEd)
May 1, 2013— CCSF faculty unions files complaint (San Francisco Chronicle)
“ACCJC Gone Wild”: In-depth report takes on ACCJC
Our District colleges are currently in the midst of investing a huge amount of time, energy and money in preparing for another accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which accredits two-year colleges in California and Hawaii. Sanctions imposed on colleges by the ACCJC in recent years have far exceeded the total sanctions by all other accreditation bodies in the country combined.
Who actually runs the ACCJC? What is the basis for the huge number of sanctions they have been imposing? What laws govern the decisions taken by ACCJC and who oversees their actions? These are some of the many questions that were taken up in an eye-opening report, titled “ACCJC Gone Wild”, written by Martin Hittelman, former President of the California Federation of Teachers and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Los Angeles Valley College in August 2012, with a third revision released January 21, 2013 . The report extensively analyzes many issues concerning how the ACCJC operates and it is highly recommended reading for anyone involved in or interested in the accreditation process. Download "ACCJC Gone Wild” here.
Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale
An 8 minute video about how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality, narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki, written and directed by Fred Glass for the California Federation of Teachers.
AFT 1493 supports Chicago teachers
On September 13, AFT 1493's Executive Committee (EC) passed a resolution in support of the striking Chicago teachers. EC members (in photo, from left) Elizabeth Terzakis, Rebecca Webb, Anne Stafford, Michelle Kern, Chip Chandler and Dan Kaplan sport solidarity t-shirts. Click "Read More" to read the full resolution.
Contract Ratification Vote Results
Dear Colleagues, August 22, 2012
I am pleased to announce that the faculty has resoundingly approved the Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement (see Agreement details). Last week's ratification vote also holds the honor of having the highest voter-participation rate in the recorded history of our Local. Out of the 290 votes cast, 282 faculty (97%) voted to approve the Tentative Agreement while 8 faculty (3%) voted to reject it.
The Tentative Agreement will go before the Board of Trustees for its approval in September. Because we were without a contract for three years, this is a six-year agreement (July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2015) with the salary increases going into effect this semester (beginning Aug. 20, 2012). The District has indicated that we should see those increases reflected in our Sept. paychecks. If the retroactive pay increase for Aug., 2012, is not included in our Sept. checks, then it should be included in our October checks.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or your AFT Chapter Chairs. I wish you all the very best as we start the semester.
AFT1493.org named best website in state again!
3rd year in a row! Click here for more on our Communications Awards
Sign the Online Petition to Support Binding Arbitration!
We are asking all District faculty who support “binding arbitration” to please sign our online petition so we can clearly show how the faculty feel about this issue. Click here to sign the petition!