AFT ACTION UPDATE 3: DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

 

FACT:

One in four American adults has a disability

FACT:

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to take prompt action to provide reasonable accommodations to employees.

 

FAIRNESS:

SMCCCD drags its feet in providing faculty with reasonable accommodations, delaying for months or even years before responding to faculty’s requests.

FAIRNESS:

During contract talks, AFT proposed a NO COST improvement: that the District will provide a status update within 30 days of a request for accommodation with an appeal process available.

The District’s negotiating team has consistently rejected this proposal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EQUITY:

Faculty members like Lori Slitcon are dedicated to teaching and helping our students, all the while navigating the difficulties of working with a disability:

“I have an incurable, deteriorating vision impairment. Administrators have been informed of my need for accommodations since 2015. I have made repeated requests for training and technology support – waiting months, and even years, for administrators to follow through. Meanwhile work demands continue. Without reasonable accommodations, I am still expected to complete contractual obligations in a timely manner. While the District sits they sit on their hands, I have suffered repeated, painful eye infections from strain. I have suffered despair, anguish, and other health issues from their neglect and disregard of my personal and professional well-being.”

-Lori Slicton, Professor of Anthropology
Skyline College

EQUITY:

How can the district espouse “equity” when our colleagues with disabilities can’t even receive an UPDATE on their necessary accommodations in a timely manner?

This treatment is neither civil nor right.

Stay tuned for more messages from your union and be prepared to take action for a fair contract!