Monthly Archives: April 2020

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS DURING CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY MEASURES

AFT successfully bargained with the District around emergency actions relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic and agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that addresses many of the effects faculty have been dealing with.  Below are clarifications and answers to questions related to the MOU.

 

Instructions for requesting 10 hours of added pay for transitioning to online instruction:

 

Forms for COVID-19 Leaves of Absence:

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides new leave programs to assist employees through this time.
Download this FFCRA Leaves Information and the necessary forms:

  • Emergency Paid Sick Leave Form – If you cannot work (or work remotely) due to a COVID19 related reason, please complete this form.
  • Extended Family & Medical Leave Form – If you cannot work (or work remotely) because you are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) due to a COVID-19 related reason, please complete this form. 

 

Questions and Answers

NOTE: For any situations where a faculty member runs into an obstacle in claiming new benefits, they should contact either:
1) AFT Executive Secretary Marianne Kaletzky (kaletzky@aft1493.org) or 2) their AFT Chapter Chair or Representative

 

Overload Compensation & Reimbursements

Q: What is the reimbursement process. Will there be a form to fill out?

A: See instructions above.

 

Q: For the agreed upon 10 hours of additional pay for each faculty member, can any hours spent on conversion to teaching online be applied? Does it need to be formal training?

A: It does not need to be formal training, just time spent on any work needed to prepare to teach online or to adjust materials if a faculty member was already doing online teaching. The union encourages all faculty to claim this benefit.

 

Q: Have faculty already received pay for the cancelled classes on March 12-16?

A:  Both full time and part time faculty should have received this pay. The District is still figuring out the process for the extra pay for these three days for adjunct faculty.

 

Q: Do faculty contact Deans for compensation for time spent moving online?

A: Yes, faculty should contact their Deans. See instructions above.

 

Q: How long should faculty wait before applying for reimbursements/additional 10 hours pay?

A: Faculty should not wait. The Union encourages faculty to put in their requests now by contacting their Deans. See instructions above. If they run into barriers, faculty should contact their AFT Chapter Chair or Rep or Paul Bissember (bissember@aft1493.org) 

 

Leaves

Q: What happens to classes that faculty can’t teach if they take one of these leaves?

A: It’s the District’s responsibility to find a sub, not the employee’s. (The District may be unprepared since it’s a brand new process). If a faculty member has problems, contact the union for help.

 

Q: Does parental leave for schooling apply to high school aged kids?

A: Yes, as long as they are under 18. The rules are based on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

 

Q: Should faculty take a leave if they are having mental health and other challenges?

A: Yes, we encourage this! It’s an emergency relief benefit the Union has negotiated for faculty and part of the reason the Union is reaching out to faculty. It’s faculty’s RIGHT to take the leave and this is a legal agreement.  Faculty are still able to use sick leave to take time off for leaves that fall outside of the FFCRA eligibility.

 

Q: Do faculty need to take a full leave or can they take a partial leave or reduction in classes/shifts?

A: Faculty should tell HR what they feel they need to do given their situation. It need not be all or nothing. Faculty have an option to decrease their load; for example, teach one less class.

 

Q: Do part-timers have the same eligibility as full-timers?

A:. Yes. All provisions in the MOU apply to both part and full time faculty.

 

Q: Who do we contact for leave requests?

A: HR at the District:  David Fuene. Faculty may choose to cc their supervisor/Dean when making the request. However, faculty do NOT request leave through their supervisor or Dean.

 

Q: Will faculty lose their standing for Fall if they take a leave?

A: No. Deans cannot retaliate or change faculty standing/seniority based on leaves of absence. The MOU is a legal document, so retaliation is illegal.

 

Q: Can faculty take sick leave if they don’t have COVID?

A: Yes, they can take sick leave FOR ANY REASON. 

 

 

Equipment

Q: Will any equipment purchased for working from home be considered “district owned?”

A: Yes. 

 

Contract/MOU

Q: Are Deans aware of the new MOU, that faculty will be requesting compensation pay or reimbursement?

A: The information may not have reached them yet.  AFT has encouraged the District to streamline communications with administrators.

 

Q: When does the MOU end?

A: The MOU goes through May 30. However, it could be extended or modified through negotiations after this date. 

 

Workload

Q: If a faculty member is being asked to continue serving on a committee, what should they do?

A: They should notify the Union.  Continuing to work on a committee is not required during this period.

 

Q: If faculty’s required duties (from Appendix) have expanded,what should they do?

A: Keep a record of time spent. Only do essential work as laid out in the contract. Faculty can refuse all other work including Division meetings, etc.  It’s faculty’s right to ask for a reduced load – this would be through HR, not the Dean. 

 

Scope of negotiations

Q: Are summer and fall still up in the air in terms of negotiations around COVID-19?

A: Yes. However, AFT has sent dates to the District for continuing negotiations around our regular, ongoing contract negotiations.

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF MOU ON EFFECTS OF DISTRICT EMERGENCY ACTIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Below is an update on the MOU our union successfully bargained with the District around emergency actions relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic. We have reached final agreement with the District. Click here to view the full MOU.  Your input and our collective actions have greatly contributed to the success of this process.

Some of your faculty colleagues will be phone-banking later this week to inform everyone of these relief measures and to ensure members receive qualifying benefits. Please note that for any leaves of absence, you should contact HR and for reimbursements/compensation, you can follow up with your immediate supervisor.

Click here to find answers to many frequently asked questions about the MOU.  If you have any other questions or encounter barriers, contact your AFT chapter co-chairs and/or Paul Bissember, AFT 1493 Executive Secretary, at: bissember@aft1493.org.


Highlights of the AFT MOU

  • The relief measures outlined in the MOU last until the end of the semester (May 30, 2020)
  • Faculty will maintain their salary and benefits throughout the Spring semester. Faculty will be fully compensated for cancelled or suspended classes.
  • Emergency Leaves –In addition to the leaves guaranteed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), Faculty will be granted the following types of leaves:
    • Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility [1] to receive EPSL shall receive their regular rate of pay until the end of the semester. This leave is for faculty who are quarantined, advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider, or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.  This also includes any faculty who have had classes canceled this semester.
    • Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) to care for family members – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility criteria to receive EPSL at 2/3 pay [2], shall be paid their full rate of pay for 10 days. This leave is for faculty who are caring for a family member.
    • Emergency Family and Medical Leave (EFML) – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility [3] to take the EFML at 2/3 of their regular pay for up to 12 weeks may use accrued leave to bring faculty up to 100% pay for the full 12 weeks. This leave is for faculty with children who have had their schools closed due to COVID-19.
    • Forms for COVID-19 Leaves of Absence:
  • Workload Adjustment – Faculty shall be limited to only required duties and responsibilities outlined in our Contract, Appendix D1 A for Instructors (p. 58), D2 A for Counselors (p. 59) and D3 A for Librarians (p. 60). Faculty with coordination duties will do their best to continue their coordination and will be provided flexibility to continue performing these duties to the best of their abilities.
  • Reimbursement – Faculty shall receive reimbursements for incurred expenses for conferences not attended or cancelled. In addition, the district will reimburse faculty for preapproved expenses incurred as a result of teaching online.  If members need additional equipment to work remotely, they shall inform their immediate supervisor, and the District will procure and provide the necessary equipment. If you encounter any problems or barriers in getting you equipment you need, please contact your AFT chapter co-chairs and/or Paul Bissember.
  • Flexibility around Online Instruction and Academic Freedom – Faculty will retain academic freedom and the mode of online instruction will be left up to the instructor.
  • Compensation for migrating classes online –
    All faculty will receive their regular pay as if March 12, 13 and 16 had been instructional days.
    All faculty shall receive up to ten (10) hours of additional compensation at the special rate, without prior approval, in recognition of transitioning to online instruction    .
    For adjunct faculty who did not benefit from the preparation days when the District canceled classes on March 12, 13, and 16, they will receive additional compensation in an amount equivalent to 100% of their regular pay received for each class taught on Tuesday March 10 and/or Wednesday March 11.

    Instructions for requesting 10 hours of added pay for transitioning to online instruction:

  • Evaluations –
  1. Tenure Track: evaluations proceed as scheduled, but faculty are not evaluated on their methodology or use of distance technology, and student surveys are limited to course content.  (Note:  tenure track evaluations are typically completed by now)
  2. Tenured and Part-Time:  If the classroom observation has NOT been completed, evaluations are postponed.  If classroom observation has been completed, evaluee decides if evaluation continues or is postponed; if postponed, portions completed do not have to be repeated.

Footnotes

1.     a. Subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;

b. Advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;

c. Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;

2.  Is caring for an individual subject to an order described above, or is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

3.  An employee may take EFMLA leave only when they are unable to work because they must care for the employee’s child who is under the age of 18 years, if the child’s school or place of care has been closed or the child’s care provider is unavailable due to an emergency related to COVID-19

 

 

JOIN YOUR COLLEAGUES FOR A VIRTUAL RALLY & SPEAK-OUT ON MAY DAY!

On May 1st labor unions across the world are speaking out about the challenges of working people during the COVID pandemic. Your faculty union is inviting you to join our special May Day action: 

A virtual faculty rally on Friday, 5/1, from 2-3pm.  

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/94221091151

Who will be there?

Your faculty union colleagues will be there. Mike Clare, the new Chancellor, and four members of the SMCCD Board of Trustees are joining us, along with San Mateo County elected officials – so far one Supervisor and one mayor have RSVP’d and the local Press has been invited!

Why would I want to join in?

After successfully negotiating the COVID MOU, we’re about to resume bargaining for our long overdue contract.  The first negotiation session is May 1st, right before this rally! The COVID crisis has exacerbated our working conditions – issues around workload, job security for adjunct faculty, academic freedom and more need to be addressed. Our continuous collective pressure and our unity — all of us standing up together — is necessary to influence the decision-makers and to win a fair contract.

What will happen at the rally?

Faculty speakers will address the key issues: compensation & the district budget, part-time pay parity & the economic hardships of part time faculty, workload & and the impact of the COVID crisis on teaching and learning conditions. After each speaker, we’ll invite you to share your experiences and concerns, so bring your talking points!

What do I need to do?

–Wear your Red-for-Ed AFT T-shirt!

–Please download and use the AFT visual for your Zoom background to show our unity! (How to change your zoom virtual background)

–Create your own handmade sign that you can flash on zoom. After each speaker, hold it up!  Some ideas:  Fair Contract Now!  Treat Teachers Fairly! Faculty Working Conditions Are Students’ Learning Conditions! Even better, come up with your own wording for your sign!

–Sign and circulate this petition for Part-time Pay Parity to show the District you support fair compensation for adjunct faculty — 70% of our workforce earning only 60-70% of a full-time salary. Please sign and share with others–full time and part time faculty, students, friends, and community members can sign it. Put it on your social media!  Our goal is 500 signatures before May 12th.