Negotiations Report #2

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AFT 1493 San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers

February 11, 2025

“By demonstrating unity, strength, and an unwavering commitment to each other, we can secure the just contract that we deserve.”  —AFT 1493 Negotiation Team Member Luis Zuniga (Music faculty, Skyline)  

Bargaining Report

AFT Negotiation Team: Monica Malamud, Chet Lexvold, Jennifer Van Sijill, Luis Zuniga, Gil Perez.  AFT Co-Presidents Rika Yonemura-Fabian, Tamara Perkins, and VP Jessica Silver-Sharp. 

Observers: Nadia Biglari, Julia Johnson, Lori Slicton.

District Attendees: Ellen Wu, lawyer / Chief Negotiator; Richard Storti, Executive Vice Chancellor; Julie Johnson, CHRO; Joe Morello, VP Admin Services at Skyline; David Feune; Aaron McVean; Gerardo Ramirez, VP Admin Svcs CSM.

 

Our contract negotiations with the District began Friday, February 7th.  The District’s Chief Negotiator presented a document with 19 ground rules, which she insisted needed to be negotiated before we could engage in negotiations of actual contract proposals.  The entire 3-hour negotiation session was devoted to discussing these ground rules, and AFT was not able to present any of the contract language that we had prepared for our first negotiation session.  

 

Background, What This Means, and What We Can Do

Since last summer, we had been proactively initiating conversations with the District and felt we had reached agreement on steps to facilitate a more timely and collaborative resolution, such as scheduling out negotiation sessions for member participation and inclusion, and that both parties would come to each negotiation session with at least one proposal prepared.  We came prepared to negotiate substantive portions of our contract on Friday.  However, the District’s actions on February 7th revealed they were not prepared to commit to their promise, and it’s now incumbent upon us to collectively force them to.  

Here’s how our faculty members present at the bargaining table responded when asked to describe how the District’s actions made them feel during Friday’s negotiation:  

“Insulted.”
“Belittled.”
“Bullied.”
“Badgered.”
“Condescended to.”  

The District brought on a new lawyer as their chief negotiator, Ellen Wu.  Ellen’s profile speaks for itself: she “handles . . . discipline matters on behalf of districts, including teacher dismissal hearings,” and “advises and assists school districts regarding lawful responses to strike activity.”  Ellen wasted the entire three-hour session trying to impose nineteen (19) restrictive, needlessly complex ground rules. As a quick background, “ground rules” normally cover the simple mechanics of where and how the parties meet to negotiate and exchange proposals.  “Fridays on Zoom from 1:30-5:30.”  “Exchange proposals via emailed Word documents.”  The basics.  The District’s proposed rules, however, would have prevented us from sharing information with you and all of our members about what happened at the negotiating table each Friday.  Their proposed rules would have also prevented you from joining us at the negotiating table, and had other deleterious impacts on our ability to effectively keep our 900+ faculty members informed and engaged about their own working conditions.  

In good news, our Chief Negotiator, Cañada faculty member Monica Malamud, plus our team of negotiators and member observers who attended the negotiation, stood strong and held the line against the District’s unreasonable proposals and tactics.  Special kudos to Monica, as this was her first negotiation session as Chief Negotiator, and she weathered an aggressive and combative approach by the District’s lawyer.  But our strength comes from our members, standing unified, together.  Which means…  

We need YOU!  This is a critical moment—we cannot allow the District to set a precedent of delaying and denying negotiation on the material, substantive issues in our contract.  We can overcome the District’s tactics by showing a collective, unwavering commitment to securing the just contract we deserve.  Here is how you can join the fight:  

Finally, we recognize Joaquín Rivera, who has retired after serving as our Chief Negotiator for the past 32 years!  Joaquín’s contributions to our union and collective well-being as faculty are immeasurable.  Thank you, Joaquín!  

In Solidarity,

Chet Lexvold
Executive Director, AFT 1493
lexvold@aft1493.org