Monthly Archives: December 2013

December 2013 Advocate – Letter to the Editor


Letter to the Editor: “A lovely time” at anniversary party

Dear AFT 1493 Advocate,

Just wanted to say I had a really lovely time at the AFT 50th birthday party.  I could only stay till about 5:30, but while I was there, I found myself gently engulfed by a big-hearted feeling.  There was no robust fire burning in some hearth–but it felt like there was.  A classy jazz combo (CSM’s, thanks to Mike Galisatus, who was present) played pitch-perfect behind all the animated chatter.  Scrumptious edible delicacies, smooth wine, welcoming oversized plush cushions: it was refreshingly elegant, yet warm and earthy.  I didn’t know too many people, but found it no coincidence that I found myself huddled with colleagues especially dear to me:  Amy Sobel, Teeka James and Anne Stafford.  We were hired around the same time (long ago, but not too long!), and used to make little precious coffee outings together.  This felt like a too-fleeting reunion.  Then, Nina Floro and Kathleen Feinblum ended up joining us, and it was a treat to meet them.  A short while later, our fantastic Dean, Sandra Comerford, arrived, spiking our mix in the way only she can.  I remember looking over and seeing CSM President Mike Claire at one end of the room, Chancellor Ron Galatolo at another end, both heatedly enjoying themselves in conversation.  Somehow it was all very “union,” in the best and truest sense of what the union–any union–should be about.  As ours is.  I came away realizing that I made sure to attend this party, not only to say happy birthday, but to say thank you to our union, for all you (we) do.

David Laderman, Academic Senate President, Professor of Film, College of San Mateo

December 2013 Advocate – Board election


Holober and Mohr win Board seats

On November 5, the two College District Board of Trustees candidates endorsed by AFT 1493–Richard Holober and Tom Mohr–were elected to the Board for the next four years.

    Holober is now beginning his 5th term in office while Mohr, former Cañada College President, was elected to the Board for the first time.

    AFT Local 1493 congratulates both Holober and Mohr on their election to the Board of Trustees.

    The new Board will now consist of Holober, Mohr, Pat Miljanich, Karen Schwarz, and Dave Mandelkern.

December 2013 Advocate – PETF


Performance Evaluation Task Force: Next steps

When the work of the Performance Evaluation Task Force is complete, AFT will be holding a faculty ratification vote on the new evaluation documents and procedures. The vote will take place during the Spring 2014 semester.

    If the new documents and procedures are not completed before the end of this semester, then a subcommittee of AFT 1493 and the District Academic Senate will take up the work. It is ultimately the responsibility of AFT 1493 to ensure that faculty have a “fair and rigorous” evaluation tool.

    Once AFT and the District Academic Senate have reviewed the final drafts of all of the documents that the Task Force has created, AFT will prepare for the faculty vote by following procedures similar to those used for contract negotiations: Information and a rationale will be provided to faculty about the revisions to documents and procedures, and faculty input will be requested before holding the ratification vote. 

December 2013 Advocate – ACCJC & CCSF’s accreditation


Forums on the ACCJC’s sanctioning of CCSF held at CSM and at City College


Many concerns raised about ACCJC’s accreditation procedures and the impact of a potential closure

As City College of San Francisco (CCSF) continues working to avert closure in the wake of sanctions by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and numerous subsequent legal actions against the ACCJC by the CFT, the San Francisco City Attorney, the U.S. Department of Education and others, a public forum on the CCSF accreditation situation was held at CSM on Monday, October 28. The forum was designed to help the faculty, students, and staff in the San Mateo District understand why the ACCJC is threatening to close City College, one of the largest community colleges in the country, in July 2014, and to solicit support for CCSF from our college communities.

    The speakers at the forum included Jaime Borrazas, an ESL instructor at CCSF for 32 years; Ariel Hiller, a City College student who started at CCSF as an ESL student and has continued as a Labor and Community Studies major while working for the past several years; and Rafael Mandelman, a member of the CCSF Board of Trustees. SMCCCD Chancellor Ron Galatolo introduced the panel of speakers and also made extended comments of his own throughout the forum. A six-minute video of excerpts from the forum can be viewed here.

    About a week after the CSM forum–on November 7–Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, joined hundreds of faculty, students and politicians who packed an auditorium on the main CCSF campus to challenge ACCJC’s accreditation procedures and call for keeping City College open. Chancellor Galatolo was also on the stage and again made remarks expressing his deep concern regarding the actions of the ACCJC. Thus far, he is the only community college CEO in the state who has been willing to publically speak out against the ACCJC’s intention of closing down CCSF.  A video of the entire forum (2 hours +) can be viewed here and a 20-minute condensed version of the forum is viewable here.

December 2013 Advocate – New Part-Timer Reps


Introducing Skyline’s new AFT 1493 Part-Timer Reps:
Paul Rueckhaus and Janice Sapigao

Ed. Note: Two new Part-timer Reps. from Skyline College–Paul Rueckhaus and Janice Sapigao–have joined AFT Local 1493’s Executive Committee this semester, so we asked them to introduce themselves.

Paul Rueckhaus

Greetings colleagues! I am thrilled to introduce myself as an adjunct faculty representative for Skyline College in Local 1493! I have been teaching at Skyline since 2011. Like many of my fellow adjuncts I am a freeway flyer–not only between prueckhaus-webcampuses, but between disciplines. I teach in the Health Science & ESOL Departments at Skyline and the English and (occasionally) Health Education Departments at San Francisco State.

    My graduate training is in both public health and English composition. Prior to teaching, I’ve worked in a range of jobs from healthcare program planner to HIV/STD prevention counselor, to clinical research assistant to phlebotomist & phlebotomy trainer to preschool teacher to daytime bartender/night club coat checker at large, and more!

    Above all of these, teaching has been the most thrilling, pleasurable and possibly most challenging job I’ve had yet. I absolutely love the community of students, staff & teachers that I have been privileged to work with here at Skyline. I am truly honored to not only be a part of a faculty as passionate, innovative and accomplished as Skyline’s, but to represent you all in our chapter of the American Federation of Teachers!

Janice Sapigao

Hello, everyone! I am happy to be a part of AFT 1493 as the adjunct faculty representative and I can’t wait to meet everyone in person.
janice-sapigao    Fall 2013 marks my first semester as an adjunct instructor at both Skyline College and San Jose City College. In addition to being a teacher, I am a writer, poet, and community organizer. I am originally from San Jose, CA, but I come to you by way of Los Angeles, CA where I lived for two years, earned my MFA in Critical Studies/Writing from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), organized with a Filipina/o American community group called Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB Pro-People Youth) and co-founded a Historic Filipinotown open mic series called the Sunday Jump. I was also an undergraduate student-organizer at UC San Diego, where I worked with the campus community centers (LGBT Resource Center, Women’s Center and Cross-Cultural Center).

    I have also worked in educational, literary arts and publishing non-profit settings for the past four years – my passions of teaching, working with students and writing have always been at the center of my work. In addition to changing the world one word at a time, I enjoy running, drinking tea, and collecting big earrings.