The Advocate

The Advocate, newsletter of the San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1493, is available in .pdf format– by clicking on the links for the specific issues below. Links to individual articles in an issue are listed under the link for that issue. (To read .pdf files, download Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

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Click here to see The Advocate Archives (issues from 1999-present)

February 2020

View full February 2020 issue (pdf)

In this issue:

• Feb. 5 Bargaining Report
  District presented counter proposals on investigations and binding arbitration. AFT presented counter proposals on the Distance Ed MOU and the FLC lab allocation.
• Why so little progress on workload and compensation? A review
  A review of our workload and compensation proposals and how the District has responded to them.
• Contract Action Team organizing faculty to fight for a fair contract
  Contract Action Team (CAT) encourages faculty activism through grass-roots organizing to win the fair contract all faculty deserv
• Faculty discuss strategies to attain a fair contract at Union Solidarity Hours
  Reports of the Union Solidarity Hours attended by close to 100 faculty members at all three campuses on Feb.5
• AFT 1493’s COPE supports Board of Trustees candidates
  Join AFT 1493’s political action committee to help elect pro-faculty Board members
• Moms4Housing show who wins when human rights confront hedge cities
  Four homeless mothers and their children occupied an empty investor-owned house in Oakland to draw attention to the need for the city and state to solve the housing crisis.

December 2019

View full December 2019 issue (pdf)

In this issue:

• 
  We are waiting: Over 90 supporters pack Board meeting to hear nine faculty tell Trustees how contract issues affect teaching and learning
  Speakers addressed faculty workload, part-time parity, progressive discipline, lab load credit, and fair compensation
• Minor movement in latest round of bargaining
  Nov. 26 bargaining session focused on workload, progressive discipline, investigations, part-time pay parity & compensation
• Interim Chancellor Mike Claire answers faculty questions at CSM Townhall meeting
  Claire answered questions on workload, low-enrolled classes, Galatolo investigation, evaluation of administrators and more
• Faculty with disabilities: Creating a culture of inclusion
  Meeting ADA needs of faculty must be District priority
• Members’ responses on “Equal pay for labs”
  Faculty responded to November Advocate article
• CSEA supports AFT speakers, raises concerns about Chancellor search process
  Juanita Celaya, CSEA Chapter 33 First Vice President, spoke at Nov. 20 Board meeting
• Adjunct faculty: Claim your medical insurance stipend by end of the semester
  Adjuncts who work 40% or more of full-time can receive reimbursement for as much as $1,505 per semester
• Part-timers eligible for unemployment benefits between semesters
  Don’t be reluctant to file. This is your right, not charity!
• Union-sponsored scholarships available to AFT members and dependents
  Applications for some scholarships due soon
• Unions working to get all residents counted in 2020 Census
  Help counter the Feds’ efforts to undercount county residents

November 2019

View full November 2019 issue (pdf)

In this issue:

• While our administrators’ salaries are ranked #1 in the state, our full-time faculty salaries rank below the top tier of Bay 10 districts and our part-time faculty salary rankings are in the lower half of Bay 10 districts
  Meanwhile, the number of SMCCCD administrators increased 55% since 2012
• Amping up the campaign for a fair contract
  AFT 1493 has been reaching out to faculty to find out which steps they support to win a fair contract
• Equal pay for labs: SMT faculty members share their thoughts
  Reactions to proposal to assign the same load credit for labs across disciplines
• Concerns raised about administrator’s intimidating comments
  AFT and CSEA reps. speak at Board of Trustees meeting about administrator’s comments at Skyline public forum
• Invited but unpaid: The adjunct faculty dilemma
  Part-time faculty need to get paid for attending “optional” events, forums, trainings and meetings
• AFT 1493 endorses and supports UndocuWeek
  AFT 1493 endorsed UndocuWeek, a week of action to raise awareness of undocumented students on our campuses
• Negotiations Report
  Update from the most recent contract bargaining session

September 2019

View full September 2019 issue (pdf)

In this issue:

• Red shirts on Wednesdays: District take warning!
  The current state of the contract negotiations saga
• One way to help improve administrators’ performance? Anonymous evaluations by everyone they supervise
  District rejects AFT proposal; wants to keep current policy in which administrators choose who evaluates them and evaluations are not anonymous
• College students facing mental health crisis
  40% of our students reported mental health issues interfered with their academic success
• District rejects pay parity for counselors and librarians
  Proposal would have changed salary schedules to just 2 rates: a student contact rate and a non-student contact rate
• Faculty wear their AFT 1493 T-shirts to support the union bargaining team
  Photos of some of the many SMCCD faculty who wore their union T-shirts on contract bargaining days
• New faculty: Welcome, we’re here to help
  AFT Outreach Organizers Katharine Harer and Jessica Silver-Sharp want to welcome new faculty
• AFT 1493 and SMCCD march at SF Pride
  Contingents of faculty, staff and students from all three colleges participated in 2019 SF Pride march
• Votes of no confidence in California Community College Chancellor
  CFT and FACCC express no confidence in CCC Chancellor over his support for performance-based funding and corporate online college
• Public support for unions on the rise
  64% of Americans approve of labor unions — highest approval rating in almost 50 years

May 2019

View full May 2019 issue

In this issue:

• Slow progress in contract negotiations
• Lucky 13: Superstition & reality in professional development funds
• FLCs for lab courses need to be reallocated: Statements from the Music and Art faculty & how increased workload factored into CSM Band Director Mike Galisatus’ decision to retire
• Adjunct faculty should be paid for non-instructional work
• AFT 1493 President says goodbye
• California Federation of Teachers celebrates 100 years
• Part-time faculty are eligible for unemployment benefits
• Day of Action for Public Education on May 22 in Sacramento
• California Part-time Faculty Association holds annual conference
• AFT 1493 wins 8 CFT communications awards