AFT 1493 E-News Update - May 12, 2006

Dear colleagues,

We would like to provide you with a brief end-of-the-semester update on what is happening in the current round of contract negotiations.

Thank you for your support!

First, we would like to thank all faculty who responded to the April 28 “AFT Contract Alert” and report that there was overwhelming support for the AFT's position and great displeasure with the District's.

Mediation scheduled for May 25

As we reported in that negotiations update, the District has declared that negotiations with the AFT negotiating team are at impasse. This means that a mediator from the State will now attempt to craft a settlement agreement with the AFT and the District. To that end, there will be an all-day mediation session on Thursday, May 25 with Ann Song-Hill, the mediator who has been assigned to our negotiations.

Come to the Board Meeting on May 17

We would like to urge all faculty to attend the next meeting of the Board of Trustees on Wednesday, May 17 at the District Office at 6:00 p.m. to show support to the faculty members who will speak at the beginning of the meeting under the “Statements From The Public on Non-Agenda Items” section of the agenda. The faculty presentations will address the need for a contract settlement that compensates faculty fairly.

If AFT is able to achieve a contract settlement through the mediation process in the early part of the summer, then we will conduct a contract ratification mail-in vote thru U.S. mail. (We have conducted a contract ratification vote in this way previously.) This would hopefully enable the retro payment to be included in the first paycheck of the Fall semester. If mediation drags on through the summer months, then we will have the contract ratification vote on the campuses during the Fall semester. We will keep you posted on the progress of mediation. If an agreement is not reached during the Summer, we will ask faculty members to show their displeasure with the District's approach to contract negotiations by organizing an action on Opening Day; details to be announced. Check your e-mail throughout the Summer for further updates.

Vote for new AFT Executive Committee members

We would also like to urge faculty who are AFT members to be sure to vote in the AFT election for the 2006-2008 AFT Executive Committee which is now being conducted. You will be receiving the election ballot in your campus mailbox at the beginning of next week. Please note that your ballot must be received back in the AFT office at CSM by Wednesday, May 31.

AFT response to the suggestion of employing a professional negotiator

Finally, we want faculty to know that the AFT 1493 Executive Committee has responded to the letter that Rick Ambrose and Jacqueline Gamelin recently sent out concerning the question of whether or not AFT should hire a professional negotiator to conduct negotiations on behalf of the Union. The article will appear in the next issue of The Advocate, which will be in faculty mailboxes next week. In the meantime, the full response can now be read on the AFT website at: http://aft1493.org/ProfNegotiatorResponse.html

Have a great and restful summer vacation!

In unity,

Joaquin Rivera and Katharine Harer,
AFT 1493 Co-Presidents

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