Strategic Campaign Initiative
A grant from CFT’s Strategic Campaign Initiative has funded two faculty members, Katharine Harer (Skyline English) and Michelle Kern (CSM Art) to carry out union outreach and member organizing in our District. Katharine and Michelle are happily dispensing shirts, bags and a new packet of colorful and information-packed members’ materials which they wrote and designed, as well as looking for opportunities to make good things happen for faculty. Here are some of other things Katharine and Michelle are doing:
- Part Time Medical Stipend Survey & Campaign – Along with EC member and Skyline Health Science Instructor, Paul Rueckhaus, we created a survey distributed to all part-time faculty members during the first two and a half weeks of the spring semester. Data from the survey will help our AFT Negotiating Team work to improve the current stipend amount and application process.
- Building AFT 1493’s COPE (Committee on Political Education) War Chest — Political campaigns cost money, and in order to support candidates who will be strong faculty and student advocates for District Board of Trustees’ positions (two of which are opening up next year) the union has to raise some cash. Before the SCI project, our COPE fund wasn’t big enough to run a hamster for office, but after just a month of members’ visits, we’ve already tripled our monthly COPE contributions. If you’re not contributing a little bit each month to COPE, let us know. We’ll help make it happen.
- Part-Time Appreciation Events – We are looking forward to supporting our union Chapter Chairs as they organize gatherings on each campus to honor and create connections with our part-time colleagues.