AFT Local 1493 celebrates 50th anniversary with music, food and camaraderie

by Dan Kaplan, AFT 1493 Executive Secretary

AFT Local 1493 was granted its charter from the American Federation of Teachers on November 29, 1963, which means that the Local turned 50 years old in November. It was clearly the right time to throw a party, and that we did, in a rather grand style!

    The 50th Anniversary party was held on November 15, at the Cañada Vista Clubhouse. It was an event that brought together faculty and union members and activists from every decade from 1963 to 2013. Many of those present hadn’t seen each other in too many years, a refrain that was heard often over the course of the evening.

Student musicians and history video

    Student musicians from CSM played some wonderful jazz as the party began at 4:00, and they played numerous sets throughout the party.

CSM student jazz musicians play at AFT 1493 anniversary

There was excellent catered food for all. In one side room the video “AFT 1493: The Movie” played on a loop. This film was made on the occasion of AFT Local 1493’s 25th birthday party by Fred Glass, then the Local’s Executive Secretary. In keeping with this tradition, video was shot at the 50th Anniversary party too, with many interviews recorded of former activists of the Local—including Terry Curran, Judy Wilkinson, John Kirk, Paul Stegner and Greg Davis–sharing their memories.

Recalling the early years before the Rodda Act

    Some old timers recalled the 1960s and early 1970s, when the founders and early leaders of Local 1493–people like Ed Andrews, Pat Manning, John Kirk, and Terry Curran–operated in an entirely different political and legal environment than we have today. That was many years before the passage of the Rodda Act, which in 1975 gave California public school teachers collective bargaining rights.  Among other things, the legislation established an administrative body that became the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

    Disputes over labor law are now settled by filing an “unfair labor practice” charge with PERB. Disputes over sections of a labor contract are now settled by filing grievances against a school district. But back in the day when AFT Local 1493 was formed, faculty realized they needed to organize among themselves to improve their professional and working conditions, independent of whatever the status of such efforts might be under then existing California labor law. It was a very bold and courageous move to organize and develop a union like Local 1493 back in the early 1960’s. Which is precisely why there aren’t that many unions today in the CFT that have yet reached the ripe old age of 50 years.
  
Former AFT 1493 President Ernie Rodriguez (left photo); Right photo: Former AFT 1493 activists Al Acena (left) and John Kirk (center) with current Executive Committee member Masao Suzuki (right)

    Former faculty activists from the early years to the present day shared their memories of the union in brief speeches to the gathered partiers. These included Diane LeBow, Paul Stegner, Mary Kay Stegner, Ernie Rodriguez, John Kirk, John Searle, Al Acena, Katharine Harer, Teeka James, and others.

Joaquin Rivera and Eric Brenner honored

            Joaquin Rivera and Eric Brenner were presented with plaques honoring their many years of work on behalf of the union and faculty in the District. Eric’s plaque was presented to him in appreciation for his “outstanding efforts” as Editor of The Advocate, newsletter of Local 1493, for the past 25 years, from October 1988 to the present. Joaquin’s plaque was presented to him in appreciation for his “outstanding efforts” as Chief Negotiator for Local 1493 from December 1997 to the present.

    Also in attendance at the party were Chancellor Ron Galatolo, CSM President Mike Claire, Cañada College President Larry Buckley, CSM Interim VPI Gary Dilley, and several other administrators.

    Very warm greetings were sent to the party by two former staff members of the Local, Judy Ancel and Joe Berry, who were unable to attend the party. In her greetings, Judy said among other things:

“Congratulations to Local 1493 on its 50th anniversary… When I was there, it was a young and growing local in not too friendly times. It was shortly after California community colleges discovered the “miracle” of adjuncts, a plague which has unfortunately now spread to all levels of higher education. The leaders there had the vision to embrace adjuncts, understanding that we’d have no bargaining power in the long run without representing all teachers, tenured and not… In 1975 I was hired by Pat Manning and John Kirk. They were great people to work with, real mentors for me for my first union job… Later in the 1990s after I’d eventually become a labor educator, I met Fred Glass and then Joe Berry [subsequent Local 1493 Executive Secretaries] who also by then were labor educators. So Local 1493, it turns out has a legacy of producing labor educators. I think that’s because of the open-minded attitudes of its leaders and their willingness to give opportunities to young union activists. So, thank you so much for launching me on a career in the labor movement, which has been more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.”

In Joe Berry’s greetings, he wrote:

 “In my book (Reclaiming the Ivory Tower: Organizing Adjuncts to Change Higher Education) I thank Local 1493 for giving me my teacher union staff job and tolerating my persistent emphasis on part-timer issues as key to the future of the union as a whole… In all my years of teaching and union work, in few places have I felt my own work was as respected as it was here in Local 1493. I thank Joe McDonough, Steve Ruis, Fred Glass and John Kirk for hiring me. I read the Advocate with interest every issue and wish you all the best on this important milestone date. Happy 50th Local 1493.”

AFT 1493 Executive Secretary Dan Kaplan flanked by Donna Bowman (left) and AFT 1493 Office Manager Harriet Tucker

AFT 1493 history panels displayed

       One of the highlights of the party was the displaying of two large AFT Local 1493 history collage panels, with text drawn from the chapter on our Local in Fred Glass’s “A History of the California Federation of Teachers, 1919-1989”, and from the pages of The Advocate, which began publishing in 1976, and with images taken from the AFT 1493 archives. These panels provided an historical narrative paying tribute to all of the people associated with the project of Local 1493 over the years from 1963 to 2013.
Click here to see Panel 1 – 1963 to 1994. 
Click here to see Panel 2 – 1995 to 2013. 

One of the AFT 1493 history collage panels

    It was quite an experience to watch faculty perusing the images of colleagues as they looked more than a quarter of a century ago. It was just that kind of night, full of historical reminiscences and memories of the past interspersed with conversations about the present and what we want to make the future look like.

Long-time AFT 1493 Executive Committee member Karen Olesen (left), AFT 1493 Office Manager Harriet Tucker (center) and former AFT 1493 President Diane LeBow (right)

     Just a few days after the anniversary party was held, Local 1493 received an unexpected plaque from the national AFT that commemorated our “half century of service and advancements” and predicted that Local 1493 would be “rewarded with continued growth and success.” The plaque will be prominently displayed in the AFT office at CSM and a photo of the plaque is shown below.

 

 

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

 

 

 

More photos from the 50th anniversary party

AFT 1493 Treasurer Anne Stafford (2nd from left), AFT 1493 President Teeka James (2nd from right), flanked by CSM English Professor Autumn Newman (right) and her husband John (at left)

Skyline ESOL Professor Garry Nicol (at left) with long-time Advocate Editor Eric Brenner (right)

AFT 1493 Co-Vice Presidents and long-time leaders Katharine Harer (left) and Joaquin Rivera (right)

Longtime AFT 1493 leader John Kirk and former AFT 1493 President Paul Stegner

 
Former AFT 1493 Organizer Mary Kay Stegner (left) and husband former AFT 1493 President Paul Stegner (right) both spoke fondly about their past involvment in the Local

CSM Chapter Chair Sandi Raeber Dorsett (left) with husband CSM business professor Darrel Dorsett

      
Former AFT 1493 activist Al Acena (left) ; John Searle (right), President of DART, the AFT 1493 retirees’ group

 
Nina Floro (left) Skyline Chapter Chair; Michelle Kern (right), CSM Part-Timer Rep.

 

Two Generations of Adjunct Professors Explore Covered California

by Lin Bowie, CSM EC Rep. and Biology Professor, and Caroline Bowie Stockhus, CSM English Professor

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as ObamaCare, may be good news for adjunct faculty. As adjuncts, we do not get contributions paid by the District for health insurance premiums. Adjuncts can have access to the District group plans and pay one hundred percent of the premiums. These premiums are not cheap, and some adjuncts choose not to have health care coverage at all. The ACA may provide a more affordable health care choice for many of us. Here are District policies on benefits for part-timers:

    Under the new contract, starting January 1, 2014, the District will provide up to $600.00 per period for reimbursement of employee-incurred health benefit costs to all part-time employees who are employed in the District at 40% or more of a full-time load (6/15 FLC) and complete a 40% load. The reimbursement will be paid for the periods January through June and July through December.

    The ACA mandates health care coverage. Adjuncts that do not have health insurance will have to purchase health insurance through the District at 100 percent of the cost (less the reimbursement under the contract), or on the health insurance exchanges through CoveredCA, the California health care marketplace. The District reimbursement applies to any health care plan you purchase.

    With the ACA, all of us have access to the new insurance marketplace. So, two of our adjunct professors, Lin Bowie, CSM EC Representative and Biology Professor, and Caroline Bowie Stockhus, CSM English Professor, decided to explore their options. Lin and Caroline happen to be related. Caroline represents a younger-aged adjunct, and Lin represents the somewhat older generation. We used the same income, the same zip code, and just varied the age and medical needs slightly. A summary of premium costs and copays/coinsurance is shown in the two tables. If you want to explore CoveredCA, see the instructions and some example screen shots on our web site.

Lin

    Lin used to purchase health insurance on the private market some years ago, but now gets her coverage through the District. Lin went to the District because, overall, it was cheaper than the private market for her current age and health needs. Lin teaches enough units to qualify for the $600.00 reimbursement per semester under the AFT contract. Lin used her income from the District, so she could be an example of a typical older adjunct professor. She keyed in her household information to see what her choices might be.¹ Lin is in a single-person household, with her children grown and on their own. Lin also teaches the summer semester, which raises her overall gross adjusted income for the year. Here is a brief comparison of what Lin found when she took only her gross income that she earns at the District (her salary and unemployment compensation). To make things equivalent, both Lin and Caroline used the same criteria, and compared a Bronze Kaiser, Bronze PPO, and a Silver Kaiser Plan. Lin and Caroline accessed the CoveredCA web site at www.coveredca.com. When you access the site the screen gives you an option to compare plans directly, but for the purpose of this article we used the “Start Here” feature. The next screen leads you through a series of search parameters to help you compare costs and plans.

Search Parameters for Lin:

• Over 60
• Medical Visits Low, Prescription Use Moderate
• Income: Below $40,000

Comparing her coverage options, Lin would qualify for Premium Assistance. For adjuncts this is significant. If you make $45,960.00 or less, which most adjuncts do, you can get premium assistance and this will significantly lower your health insurance costs. Premium assistance varies based on your income, age, and medical needs, as you can see from the chart below. Although we are still shopping, there was one aspect of the ACA that stood out for us. Under the new ACA-qualified plans, your maximum out-of-pocket will never exceed $6350.00 per year. There is no lifetime cap. For Lin, an older adjunct, this is huge. “If I lost my healthcare coverage, I feel assured by the new ACA. Under the old private plans I used to purchase, I would hit that lifetime cap if I had a catastrophic medical condition or accident. I would face bankruptcy. Under the ACA, that will no longer happen. The out-of-pocket might be a drain on my savings overtime, but the lack of a lifetime cap is a huge improvement for average working Americans.”

Coverage/Costs	Kaiser Bronze 60 HSA	Blue Shield Bronze 60 HSA	Kaiser Silver 70 HMO
Monthly Premium *after Premium Assistance $542	$83	$64	$309
Estimated Yearly Costs *Premium and Out-of-Pocket	$2901	$3870	$4606
With Reimbursement ($600/semester)	$1701	$2670	$3406
Deductible	$4500	$4500	Not Applicable
Maximum Out-Of-Pocket	$6350	$6350	$6350
Doctor Visits
Primary Care	40% Coinsurance	40% Coinsurance	$45 Copay
Specialized Visit	40% Coinsurance	40% Coinsurance	$65 Copay
Preventative Care/Screening	$0	$0	$0
Tests
Laboratory	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
X-Rays/Diagnostic Imaging	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$65 Copay
CT/MRI	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$250 Copay
Drugs
Generic	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$19 Copay
Brand	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$50 Copay
Non-Preferred Brand	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$50 Copay
ER and Urgent Care
Out-Patient, ER Services	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$250 Copay
Urgent Care Services	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
Hospital
Hospitalization	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Physician and Surgeon	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Mental Health
Out-Patient	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
In-Patient	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Note: There are more items listed on the coveredca.com web site than are shown here. This is an overview of how the coverage items work for comparison.

^——
1 In the interest of full disclosure, Lin is above the cut-off for program eligibility for premium assistance, because of additional income from other sources prior to becoming a teacher. She is staying with the District plan for now, even though it costs more per month, because the coverage is a little better.
——

Caroline

    Caroline is currently purchasing health insurance on the private market. She can get this at lower cost because of her age and needs, compared to the District Plan. However, if Caroline needed to purchase a platinum or gold plan, she would not save much money and would probably stay with her private plan.
Search Parameters for Caroline:  

• Under 30, 
• Medical Visits Low, Prescription Use Low, 
• Income: Below $40,000

Coverage/Costs	Kaiser Bronze 60 HSA	Blue Shield Bronze 60 HSA	Kaiser Silver 70 HMO
Monthly Premium *after Premium Assistance $43	$199	$218	$286
Estimated Yearly Costs *Premium and Out-of-Pocket	$2987	$3221	$3733
With Reimbursement ($600/semester)	$1787	$2021	$2533
Deductible	$4500	$4500	Not Applicable
Maximum Out-Of-Pocket	$6350	$6350	$6350
Doctor Visits
Primary Care	40% Coinsurance	40% Coinsurance	$45 Copay
Specialized Visit	40% Coinsurance	40% Coinsurance	$65 Copay
Preventative Care/Screening	$0	$0	$0
Tests
Laboratory	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
X-Rays/Diagnostic Imaging	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$65 Copay
CT/MRI	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$250 Copay
Drugs
Generic	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$19 Copay
Brand	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$50 Copay
Non-Preferred Brand	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$50 Copay
ER and Urgent Care
Out-Patient, ER Services	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$250 Copay
Urgent Care Services	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
Hospital
Hospitalization	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Physician and Surgeon	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Mental Health
Out-Patient	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	$45 Copay
In-Patient	40% Coinsurance after deductible	40% Coinsurance after deductible	20% Coinsurance after deductible
Note: There are more items listed on the coveredca.com web site than are shown here. This is an overview of how the coverage items work for comparison.

 

 

 

How to explore Covered California

Covered California is the state insurance exchange set up for Californians under the ACA. Here is a brief tour on how to explore your coverage options. The official web site is at: coveredca.com. When you access the site you will see this opening page:

We used the tool that is available when you push the Start Here link. Note also there is a number to call directly, if you do not want to use the internet to explore your options. The next screen brings up a series of windows that ask basic information to access the plans and the costs you will pay under the plans:

Choose the Preview Plans link. The next screen will guide you through the process of selecting plans for comparison. Enter your zipcode, your income per year (adjusted gross income), members in your household, and your age:

The next screen is entitled “Here is What You Told Us.” It shows the information you entered and then shows a Preview Plans link.

The next screen includes a cost estimator. On this screen you identify the level of medical needs for yourself and those in your household. There is a link for you to browse for you doctors also.

The next screen shows the plans and costs. The number of plans will vary, but there will be a sample of bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans for you to browse. The premium costs are displayed, any reimbursement assistance that you qualify for, and a selection of plans. You can browse through all of the plans by selecting the   ^͢  [arrow] button. There is also a Favorites link at the top, so you can select the plans you want to examine further. The screen will display up to four plans at a time.

Although we are still shopping, there was one aspect of the ACA that stood out for us. Under the new ACA-qualified plans, your maximum out-of-pocket will never exceed $6350.00 per year. There is no lifetime cap. For Lin, an older adjunct, this is huge. “If I lost my healthcare coverage, and I feel assured by the new ACA. Under the old private plans I used to purchase, I would hit that lifetime cap if I had a catastrophic medical condition or accident. I would face bankruptcy. Under the ACA, that will no longer happen. The out-of-pocket might be a drain on my savings overtime, but the lack of a lifetime cap is huge improvement for average working Americans.”

The > links allow you to expand each coverage item and compare costs (coinsurance or copays) for each plan.

Our Tips

Try your options several times, just to make sure you are getting accurate information. We also have heard that the phone assistance is quite helpful. On occasion we could not get access, possibly due to traffic or maintenance going on, but this was not a huge problem for us. We did try exploring options on wifi/public systems, and the site was a little slow. We had better luck on our home networks.