Monthly Archives: June 2022

WRITE TO LEGISLATORS: SMCCCD PROGRAMS & SERVICES MUST NOT LOSE FUNDING!

Dear faculty colleagues,

PLEASE join our Local in supporting necessary amendments to SB 893 (Becker), a bill that would give SMCCCD—and only SMCCCD—additional flexibility with the district’s general fund revenue. The aim of SB 893 is to use general fund revenue to make community college free for San Mateo County residents, a goal our Local wholly supports. However, SB 893 does not create a new revenue stream to fund free college—meaning that essential SMCCCD programs and services could lose funding as a result of the bill. We are asking for essential amendments to make sure that students are not only able to enroll in community college, but also have the support they need to succeed. These amendments include requiring our District to comply with the 50% Law, requiring that our District report on services and programs that lose funding due to SB 893, and directing general fund revenue specifically towards eliminating tuition and fees.

The California Assembly Committee on Higher Education will hear the bill this coming Tuesday, and we need to let them know our faculty support these necessary amendments to make sure students have the support they need. Please click here to send a prewritten letter in support of our amendments to the members of the Committee on Higher Education. We’ve set up our system to automatically send to all committee members, so there’s no need to look up addresses or draft anything unless you want to. The whole process takes just 30 seconds!

Thank you, as always, for everything you do to support our students, staff, and faculty.

MOU ON EFFECTS OF NEW MASKING FRAMEWORK

MOU reached on effects of new SMCCCD masking framework

AFT and the SMCCCD held negotiations on June 13th and 14th and were able to arrive at a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the effects of SMCCCD’s new indoor masking framework. The MOU will cover Summer 2022 only. It guarantees access to the accommodations process for faculty who may need accommodation due to the relaxation of masking requirements, either because of their own health considerations or because they live with someone who is immunocompromised or at higher risk of complications from Covid. The MOU also stipulates that the District will continue providing N95s as well as surgical masks.

AFT had wanted a wider-ranging MOU that considers the potential effects of the new masking framework on enrollments, as well as doing more to address the impacts of the new framework on faculty.

Read full MOU negotiations report

JUNE 6TH CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS REPORT

Report on June 6 Faculty Contract Negotiations Session

Summary:
On June 6th bargaining teams representing AFT 1493 and the District arrived at a Tentative Agreement on wording modifications to Article 17 (Grievance Procedure). The parties continue to negotiate over a number of issues, including and AFT’s proposal for paid parental leave, AFT’s proposal to insert a disability accommodations process and timeline into the contract, and AFT’s proposal to add an article on academic freedom to the contract. The two teams also began negotiations towards a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the effects of the recent change in the District’s indoor masking policy.

READ FULL REPORT HERE  (You can also find reports on our previous negotiating sessions on the same page.)

MAY 26TH CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS REPORT

AFT May 26th Contract Negotiations Report

After coming to agreement on two articles last session, AFT and District negotiators continued discussing a number of contractual articles during the session on May 26. Issues discussed include AFT’s organizational rights as a union; when AFT will receive information in the event of layoffs; whether a procedure for all faculty to evaluate administrators should be guaranteed by the contract; and specific provisions relating to part-time seniority and whether summer assignments should be offered according to seniority, as AFT is proposing.

Read more in the complete May 26th negotiations report here. (You can also find reports on our previous negotiating sessions on the same page.)