NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

ADFAC defeats  administration attack on preffered consideration

Recent negotiations with the administration have concluded with AdFac successfully repelling an administration attack on North Orange's system of giving some part-time faculty priority for assignments for subsequent semesters/trimesters. "Preferred consideration" for part-time faculty basically means that those who have been around a while (2 years with a load of at least 33% of full time) and have successful evaluations will get priority for class assignments, in seniority order. The administration had opened negotiations with a proposal to drastically alter this system by giving deans authority to assign classes to whomever they wished, in whatever quantities they wished. Deans need "flexibility" was the administration's rationale for dismantling the preferred consideration system in effect over the last decade!

     However, the AdFac Negotiations Team, led by Chief Negotiator Catherine Whitsett, resisted this drastic change and the final result, after 1-1/2 years of negotiations, was that the system WILL remain the same for now! Of course, the administration may try to continue this battle in future negotiations, but, with the help of the membership, AdFac should again triumph!

     Thus, assignments for future semesters/trimesters should still be given in the following order:

(1) Preferred consideration part-time faculty, in seniority order,

(2) Returning part-time non-preferred and new hires.

     Contact AdFac if your chair/dean does not seem to be following this procedure. Please note that preferred consideration faculty have priority for whatever number of classes they have requested—giving everybody one class first is NOT the contractual process.

ADFAC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER RETIRES

JERRI GIRARD-CORKUM, VP Fullerton and Co-Chair, Grievances, retired from our Executive Board in September 2011. Jerri was a member of the regular organized negotiation team that resulted in our first contract with the District. Since that time (2000), she served on the AdFac Executive Board as member, co-chair of the Grievance Committee, and as liaison between AdFac and Fullerton College. Jerri earned her Ph. D. in Spanish at UC Irvine. She taught Spanish at Fullerton College for more than ten years and retired in 2011. Jerri will be busy promoting  a book titled Dyslexia Breakthrough, which she co-authored with her husband, Collin, earlier this year. Collin was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 40 and has been busy trying to help others with dyslexia ever since. The self-published book attempts to reach dyslexic readers who want to improve their reading techniques and habits.  Congratulations, Jerri, on your retirement. We will miss you!

Dear Part-Time Colleagues:

At the CFT Convention last March, we discussed having a letter ready to give to students at the start of the next semester/trimester explaining why we couldn’t add them to our full class, and how they can take action. The letter is below. Please feel free to copy and distribute this letter to your students as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Sam Russo, President

Adjunct Faculty United 

I wish I could enroll you in my class. However, the number of students that I can reasonably teach, assist, give feedback to and assess in this course has been reached. I wish I could help!

I know how frustrating it is when you are trying to enroll in courses at our college and you keep finding that the class is full. Here you are trying to get an education to move forward in your life and the doors to opportunity seem to keep slamming in your face.

The state of California has cut funding to our colleges even as they have raised fees. When the legislators and the governor cut funding for higher education what they are telling colleges is, “You need to offer fewer classes and hire fewer teachers to teach them.” This is what is impacting your access to classes.

However there is something that YOU can do. You have a vote and your vote matters to the decision makers. You need to contact your legislator and let them know that you are upset. You can contact the legislators that you vote for by going to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.

Once you enter your address and zip code, it will give you the names of the legislators who want your vote in the future. By clicking on their names and then on “contact us” you will be able to send them an e-mail. An even stronger impression is made if you mail them a letter or call their office.

In addition, you should contact the members of the NOCCCD Board of Trustees and share with them the pain that these cuts have caused you. Send your e-mail to:  bot@nocccd.edu.

I urge you to make your opinions heard. Money for higher education and the availability of classes, whether at the community college, the Cal State Universities or the UCs, is not going to improve until YOU make it a priority for the powers that be!

Scholarships to members in 2012

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