Palomar Faculty Federation

Where we've been

A little over a year ago, Perry Snyder and I stepped into the roles of Co-Presidents for the PFF. The learning curve has been steep, as the position entails oversight of the entire union local as it interfaces not only among its membership but among the faculty as a whole, other constituency groups at our college, the District, the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Early on in our planning, the PFF determined that it wanted to take care of a number of "housekeeping" matters, including the rewriting of the PFF Constitution, a restructuring of the way we collect dues, and a redesigning of our web presence. After ten years, our union is no longer "new." As a result, it has become increasingly important that to be in compliance with the structures of CFT and AFT. Much of our work this past year has involved moving us more fully in that direction.

Increased communication with our bargaining unit came in the form of two councils: the Negotiations Council, led by Teresa Laughlin, and the Part-Time Council, led by Perry Snyder. Both councils have met throughout the year to give a forum for the voicing of opinions and ideas, many of which may be found reflected in the dialogue of upcoming negotiations.

Communication elsewhere has improved as well. If you'll recall, for example, the Classified Council of Employees (CCE) and PFF met together to brainstorm on ways that the members of our college could positively affect the budget. What's more, we've been able to improve communications with members of the Governing Board as well with face-to-face meetings where we are given the opportunity to provide different perspectives on matters coming before them.

We agreed also that it was our desire to promote an atmosphere of respect between the Union and District, and, though there have been occasional missteps, overall I believe that the PFF is operating in a way that is consistently respectful, even as we are calling certain processes and decisions into question. We recently reached settlement with the District over an unfair labor practice filed in 2009 and have, by communicating directly and by following the grievance process, actually avoided a number of potential grievances, resolving matters early in the process. A special thanks to Shannon Lienhart and Molly Faulkner for leading the way, spending many hours meeting with faculty and administration in an effort to carry out this very important responsibility of the Union.

One thing that I have learned this past year speaks to the importance of unions in protecting the rights of the members of our bargaining unit, not to protect "bad" teachers, as seems to be the oft-quoted mantra of anti-union entities, but rather to protect each and everyone's right to due process. It is the protection of this right that is the centerpiece for union work and one that serves not only our faculty but also Palomar College's management well.

Faculty also recently received our share of growth money negotiated over 3 years ago, payment of which the union had deferred in its contract in a cooperative spirit of easing District fears over impending budget doom. As soon as the state budget for the coming year came out with the triggers agreed upon in the PFF/District contract, the PFF Negotiations team, led by Teresa Laughlin, went into action, securing the retroactive payout which you saw in your paychecks earlier this summer.

What's Ahead

As we move into the 11-12 academic year, we will continue to work on those goals set forth this past year, revisiting, evaluating, redefining. At some point this year, the membership will be asked to vote on the revised constitution. Of course, the "highlight" of the year will be the beginning of negotiations. Teresa Laughlin will continue with the Negotiations Council.

At some point this year, we will be asking our membership to vote on a revised constitution, again work done to align ourselves more closely with the structure of AFT. Your re- view of this document and your vote are critical, as the constitution is the document through which the membership grants authority to the officers and e-board of our union. It is our guiding document.

Perry Snyder will continue with the Part-Time Council as well. All of us will again serve on numerous planning councils and committees, all of which have an impact on bargainable items. PFF will continue to work towards providing protection for all members of our bargaining unit, whether they are members of the Union or not. Remember that, if you've never filled out and turned in a membership form, you're not a member! (For those PT faculty who have been hired as FT faculty, you will need to turn in a new membership form.)

We encourage all to make their concerns known -- a visit to our office in MD-347 (we've moved!), a call to x3948, or a conversation with Perry, me, or any of our eboard members.

In Unity and best wishes for a good start to your semester,

Greetings Part-Timers

So, how could the part-time faculty possibly be upset? Let’s take a look. More than a decade ago, the PFF struggled to form our first ever contract with the Palomar Community College District. Long hours were spent "negotiating" the details of the various relationships between the Faculty and the Administration, relationships that were quite strained, not surprising given that it was that strained relationship that brought the formation of the faculty union in the first place.

This process was complicated by the fact that we have two distinct faculty groups, the full-time and the part-time. The full-time were blessed with a strong contractual relationship to the District – you know, the commitment of coming back next year to teach a certain number of classes and to enjoy the stability of a working (?) wage and good benefits...all nailed down by the Contract. On the other hand, the part-time went on as at-will, temporary employees with no assurance of continued employment, and, if so, even then at a greatly reduced compensation for their effort and no "extra benefits" such as health coverage. But this was just our "traditional history," and our Contract did little to improve it.

The PFF has since then worked to negotiate corrections to many of these situations for the part-time faculty. We provided an evaluation process and a "preference list" as a way to provide some stability regarding rehire, and health benefits were negotiated and have been improved with subsequent contracts. Unfortunately, other conditions confronting the part-time have just maintained the "tradition."

In California’s current budget crisis, the Palomar Executive Administration has chosen to place the heaviest burden on the part-time through the process of "class cuts," which, although a blow to the students needing the classes, is really a sanitized way of saying part-timers are laid off. It is to the praise of many full-time faculty that most are considerate to the part-time in their loss of income. Recognizing that some full-time instructors may require an overload due to special circumstances, we certainly appreciate, especially under our current economic conditions, those full-time faculty who have willingly given up their overloads so that part-timers are able to keep their load.

On another note, this summer, the leadership of the PFF has been confounded with another application of "tradition" that works adversely towards the part-time in general, namely, the greatly misunderstood "preference list" provision of the Contract. This problem has played itself out by leaving some part-time wondering if they even have an assignment; atier all, they hadn't heard a word from their department and hadn't found any assignments on eServices. While we recognize that sometimes a class normally taught by a part-timer is taken by a full-timer due to some other class' being cut, sensitivity to the part-time job loss would prompt such a decision's being made as early as possible and the part-timer's being advised of such action in a direct and timely manner. There have also been some serious questions about class assignments given to other part-time faculty without proper attention to the "preference list."

To our part-time faculty members: When were you last evaluated? Were you evaluated according to the requirements of the Contract? Are you aware of the "preference list?" Have you seen the list to confirm you are properly placed on the list? Have you asked your department to show you the list? Has your department advised you regarding any of these issues?

If any of the answers above were negative, you need to contact the PFF Executive Board or me in particular, the Part-Time Co-President, at psnyder@palomarfacfed.org to let us know of your confusion. Also keep a watch on your email as I will be sending out short informational messages each week, or more often, once the semester gets going to help bring our part-time up to speed about what they need to know and to give you an opportunity to let me know where some areas of confusion might be found.

One more important question requiring immediate attention involves unemployment insurance. If you have had a cutback in classes resulting in decreased income, you might be eligible to collect some unemployment insurance. Contact me immediately so I can give you some information on this important issue.