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Natural to protestRoberta Alexander comes by her activism honestly,translating her father's legacy into the terms oftoday.

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June 6 primary electionThe CFT's recommendations, why Phil Angelides isthe best candidate for governor, and Prop 82,Preschool for All.

page 4

Immigrant rightsSan Francisco City College faculty demonstratealongside their students on May 1.

page 7

Community College Council of the California Federation of TeachersAmerican Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

Volume 37, Number 3 n May 2006

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The California Federation of Teachers is an affiliate of the American Federation ofTeachers, AFL-CIO.

The CFT represents over 120,000 educationalemployees working at every level of educationin California. The CFT is committed to raisingthe standards of the profession and to securing the conditions essential to providethe best service to California’s students.

President Mary Bergan

Secretary-Treasurer Michael Nye

Perspective is published four times during theacademic year by CFT’s Community CollegeCouncil.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE COUNCIL

President Marty Hittelman Los Angeles College Guild, Local 1521 2550 North Hollywood Way, Ste. 400Burbank, CA 91505 Email martyhitt@aol.com Direct inquiries regarding the Community College Council to Marty Hittelman.

Southern Vice President Jim MahlerAFT Guild, San Diego Community CollegeLocal 19313737 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 410San Diego, CA 92108

Northern Vice President Dean MurakamiLos Rios College Federation of TeachersAFT Local 22791127 - 11th Street, #806Sacramento, CA 95814

Secretary Donna NaceyLos Rios College Federation of Teachers,Local 22791127 - 11th Street, #806Sacramento, CA 95814

Editor Fred GlassLayout Design Action Collective

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONSDirect editorial submissions to: Editor, Community College Perspective.California Federation of TeachersOne Kaiser Plaza, Suite 1440Oakland, California 94612Telephone 510-832-8812 Fax 510-832-5044Email cftoakland@igc.org Web www.cft.org

TO ADVERTISEContact the CFT Secretary-Treasurer for a current rate card and advertising policies.

Mike Nye, Secretary-TreasurerCalifornia Federation of Teachers2550 North Hollywood Way, Ste. 400Burbank, CA 91505 Telephone 818-843-8226 Fax 818-843-4662 Email CFTMikeNye@aol.com Although advertisements are screened as carefully as possible, acceptance of an advertisement does not imply CFT endorsementof the product or service.

Perspective is a member of the InternationalLabor Communications Association, AFT Communications Association, and Western Labor Communications Association.Perspective is printed and mailed by the all-union,environmentally friendly Alonzo Printing in Hayward, California. It is printed on 20% post-consumer content recycled paper using soy-based inks.

2 n PERSPECTIVE May 2006

EDITORIAL

MARK YOUR 2006 CALENDAR

June 6 California State Primary election: VOTE!

June 25-30 AFT Union Leadership Institute West, Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA

July 19-23 AFT Convention, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, MA

September 15-16 Executive Council, CFT Office, Burbank

September 29 CCC, CCE, EC/K-12 Council, Oakland Airport Hilton

September 30 STATE COUNCIL, Oakland Airport Hilton

We first must recognize thatthe decline in living conditionsthat we are experiencing is notinevitable. It is a result of politi-cal decisions made by those whowill not work in the commoninterest. So we must use thepower of the many to defeat theinsatiable hunger for wealth and

power by the few.The mostimmediate, and perhaps leastsexy, avenue toward progressivechange is through education.That means that we must edu-cate our members and then thegeneral public that positivechange is possible, and that thereare candidates that put workingpeople’s interests at the top oftheir agendas.

In this June’s Democratic pri-mary we have the opportunityto choose labor Democrats overbusiness Democrats at both thestate and the national level.Weeven have the chance to elect afew moderate Republicans toreplace those that are entirelyhostile to the general welfare.Check out the CFT-endorsedcandidates (see page 4).Wescreen the candidates carefully inorder to support those that aremost progressive (and most pro-education) and will fight forworking families. In Novemberwe need to get the vote out for anew Governor—hopefully thatcandidate will be Phil Angelides,because he alone among thegubernatorial candidates has notonly a pro-education rhetoricbut a commitment to fundingthrough progressive tax policy.

Our work is set out for us. Ifwe don’t cause at least a smallchange of direction this yearthen the next few years are verylikely to see an acceleratedmovement toward barbarism.How much more decline canthe Earth endure and still surviveas a planet? Do what you canand then do more.

At the CFT convention inMarch we heard about the fightthat teachers in BritishColumbia are waging to pre-serve their collective bargainingrights and safeguard public edu-cation. In France, students andworkers successfully mobilizedagainst an attempt by the gov-ernment to eliminate long heldworker rights.At the AFT High-er Education Council I listen tostories from all across our coun-try concerning slow progress insome areas; but more often Ihear of efforts to deny facultyand staff their union rights andreasonable working conditions.The assault on health benefitpackages appears to be nationalin scope. Safe and secure pen-sion provisions are under attacknot only in the United Statesbut in Canada and Mexico aswell.

So what do we do to helpmove our country and the gov-ernments of the world towardmore civilized approaches to thesolving of economic and socialproblems? How do we moveaway from what appears to meto be the ever more apparentretreat to barbarism?

The issues that we confront are worldwide issues: the ecological destruction of the earth, the pri-vatization and commercialization of education, the criminalization of immigrants, the narrowingof educational scope from broad liberal arts education to narrow “career oriented” training, the

threat of standardized testing in higher education similar to the K-12 No Child Left Behind program,two-tier salary and benefit provisions like those experienced by our part-time faculty and some of ourmost recently hired employees, declines in labor rights including restrictions on the use of e-mail andcollege mailboxes, an accelerating move away from shared governance, attacks on academic freedom, andthe continuing lack of sufficient financial support for our schools and colleges.We often forget that theproblems that we face are byproducts of the “race to the bottom” mentality inherent in the current drivetoward the globalization of markets, a race to see what country’s workers will be paid the least in orderto extract the most profits from them.

We first must recognize that the decline in living

conditions that we are experiencing is not inevitable. It

is a result of political decisions made by those who will

not work in the common interest. So we must use the

power of the many to defeat the insatiable hunger for

wealth and power by the few.

Taking the LeadMarty Hittelman, CFT Community College Council President

Print is nice. Electrons are faster.

The Perspective brings you information you need to know on aquarterly basis. For the most current union news, recent media cov-erage of education issues, and key information about the CaliforniaFederation of Teachers and its activities, visit the CFT website regularly.

www.cft.orgIt’s not an either/or. Come see us online.

On front cover: Allan Fisher and Marcia Dubois, ESLinstructors for San Francisco City College, marchedwith their students at the huge immigrant rightsdemonstration in San Francisco May 1. See articlepage 7. FRED GLASS PHOTO

Why political involvement?

Four hundred delegates tothe statewide CFT con-vention March 24-26 in

Sacramento served notice to thegovernor that they were pre-pared to follow up last year’s spe-cial election victory withanother powerful effort this yearto defeat his re-election bid. Ata noisy march and rally in therain on the Capitol steps, CFT-endorsed gubernatorial candi-

date Phil Angelides promised theenthusiastic crowd of CFTmembers to wage a battle forprogressive taxation policies inorder to boost funding for edu-cation.

Convention delegates spenthours deliberating resolutions todefine the organization’s policiesfor the coming year. A numberdealt with community colleges,among them Resolution 17,which called for CFT sponsor-

ship of legislation to get the stateto allocate enough money tocorrect the inequitable fundingfor non-credit programs. Itpassed.

Another resolution targetedthe private and loosely super-vised Accrediting Commissionfor Community and Junior Col-leges/Western Association ofSchools and Colleges (AACJC-WASC), specifically in relation

Rallies, resolutions and rewards markCFT convention

Had he been a teacher, thatmight have been how her father,Hursel Alexander, would havedefined the need for helpingworking class youth develop aworking class way of seeing theworld.

Roberta Alexander grew up ina family where radical politicsand trade union activism werepart of life, in an era when manyfamilies paid a high price forthat commitment. “We werealways politically engaged, andsocially conscious,” she recalls.“Although as a union organizermy father was often away fromhome, we were always exposedto leftwing people.”

Hursel was half African-Amer-ican, and half Scotch-Irish, theson of a white woman who mar-ried a Black man. His mother(Roberta’s grandmother) workedin packinghouses all her life.

As a teenager Hursel workedthe harvests in Minnesota, wherehe was recruited by the IndustrialWorkers of the World. When hetold them he was making fiftycents a day, they informed himhe should be making a dollar. Asa result, his first day at work hewas the cause of a threatenedstrike, and the “Wobblies” quick-

ly won equal pay (a dollar a day)for Black workers on that farm.The experience impressed theyoung boy. Eventually Hurselworked as a union organizer forCIO unions.

Natural to protestHursel Alexander’s activism

got him blacklisted in the 1950s,and he started a small shoe repairbusiness in Los Angeles. Thenthe House Un-American Activi-ties Committee came to town.“The Los Angeles Times printedthe address of my father’s store inan article on the HUAC hear-

ings, and someone fired shotsinto it,” Roberta remembers.

With that kind of childhoodbehind her, it was natural forRoberta Alexander to protest thesocial injustices of her own era.As a young woman, she wasarrested in the Free SpeechMovement protests in 1964. Shewas kicked out of Franco’s Spainin 1967 for protesting the Viet-nam War. When she returned toOakland, the Oakland Tribune,then owned by the arch-conser-vative Knowland family, coveredher expulsion, using the occasionas a pretext for a tirade againsther father. She became active inthe Black Panther Party.

“I came to the conclusionearly on that poor and workingpeople didn’t get their rightsunless they fought for them,” sheexplains. “We have to gettogether, join unions, and thenmake them serve our needs. Weespecially need unity amongpeople of different ethnic back-grounds. I feel like I embody alot of those different ethnicitiesin my own person.”

Activism into teachingAlexander took her activism

into teaching. For the last seven-

teen years, she’s taught Englishand Chicano studies at San DiegoCity College. Before that, shespent sixteen years as an ESLinstructor in the continuing edu-cation program. She notes that,although not a Latina herself, shegrew up in South Central LosAngeles, made a lot of Latinofriends, and became “an honoraryChicana,” majoring in Spanish inher undergraduate work. Alexan-der took her Ph.D in Compara-tive Literature. She became thecoordinator of SDCC’s laborstudies program in 2003.

That program offers a full Asso-ciate degree in labor studies, andtransfer credits to four-year insti-tutions with similar programs.Courses in the program rangefrom shop steward trainingthrough occupational safety andhealth to the history and politicsof the American labor movement.

Program co-coordinator JimMiller calls Alexander “a passion-ate advocate for the program,”and notes that she has “broughton new instructors, reached outto the Spanish-speaking work-force with a special course inOccupational Safety and Health,and has tried to get the locallabor movement more involved

than it has been. She has rewrit-ten most of the course outlines(I did two of them for her) andsought to create more worker-friendly certificates.” Not sur-prisingly,Alexander is a laboractivist herself, serving as a dele-gate for the AFT Guild, Local1931, to the San Diego-ImperialCounties Central Labor Coun-cil, where she helps publicizeand recruit for the labor studiesprogram.

Alexander takes pride in hav-ing hired all the current instruc-tors, not just in labor studies, butin the Chicano Studies programas well. “I was chair of theEnglish, Humanities and Philos-ophy departments, and in theright place at the right time.”Those departments now have awell-deserved reputation as cen-ters of independent thinking andpolitical engagement.

“We need faculty who canrelate to the students,” she says,“who understand what their lifeis like. Our faculty is verydiverse as a result of our deter-mined efforts –including threeChicano instructors, four Blackinstructors, and two Asian Amer-ican instructors. Actually, we

May 2006 PERSPECTIVE n 3

“I came to the conclusion

early on that poor and

working people didn’t get

their rights unless they

fought for them. We have

to get together, join

unions, and then make

them serve our needs. ”

MEMBER PROFILE

When Roberta Alexander took over coordination of the labor studies program at San DiegoCity College, she was acting in a family tradition. “I believe in our program,” she says,“because it deals with students who are immigrants, women and workers themselves, takes

them from where they are in their own communities, and gives them the tools to analyze their world.”Roberta Alexander

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Roberta continued on page 7

Convention continued on page 5

She found it natural to protest

Roberta Alexander

Don Peavy, president of the Victor Valley Part-time Faculty United,AFT Local 6286, rises to make a point during the CommunityCollege Council meeting at the CFT convention.

4 n PERSPECTIVE May 2006

POLITICS

Proposition 82, or Preschoolfor All, on the June 6 primaryballot, is considered to be Cali-fornia’s most serious attempt yetto ensure that all children havethe chance to start school on alevel playing field withtheir peers, no mattertheir level of familyincome or eth-nicity. In addi-tion to helpinghundreds ofthousands of chil-dren get astronger start,preschool for allwill give a neededboost to K-12public schoolsstruggling to helpso many children catch up.

Statewide, only one out of fivechildren has access to preschool,but teachers see the benefits ofpreschool every day in theirclassrooms. Pre-K educatorElaine Francisco of the JeffersonElementary Federation of Teach-ers just south of San Francisco

hosted a house party for K-8teachers to talk about preschool.“One kindergarten teacher toldme she could easily identify kidswithout a preschool backgroundon the first day of school.”

If approved by voters,Preschool for All would create aconstitutionally-guaranteed, vol-untary, free, part-day preschoolprogram available to children theyear before they enter kinder-garten by the fall of 2010.

The program will be fundedby revenues from an additional1.7 percent income tax on tax-

able income above $800,000 formarried couples and $400,000for individuals (in other words,not your typical community col-lege instructor). Preschool for All

is generally guaranteed to befree of charge, except in

the case of a fundingemergency. In thatcase the legisla-ture could insti-tute a parentcontributionwith a 2/3 voteand the signatureof the governor.Funds will beplaced in a trustfund outside ofProp 98 and bededicated solely to

providing preschool for all.At the state level the Preschool

for All program will be overseenby the Superintendent of PublicInstruction, who will establishstatewide quality standards andapprove local plans. CountySuperintendents of Schools (or inthe case of L.A. and San Francis-co, alternative local administra-tors) will plan and run theprogram at the local level.TheSuperintendent of Public Instruc-tion will also appoint a ParentAdvocate in each county to hearand resolve parent concerns.

The Act includes up to $2 bil-lion to develop classroom facili-ties. Local administrators willcreate plans for the construction,renovation, or purchase of facili-ties to serve enrolled childrenand build capacity for eligiblechildren. In general, only publicentities may use facilities funds,except cases in which non-publicentities engage in modest reno-vation, especially to ensure accessto the neediest communities.

The Act also includes up to$200 million in student financialaid for teachers and aides whocommit to teaching in thepreschool-for-all program. Bythe eighth year of the program,teachers will be required to holdbachelor’s degrees including 24college units in early learning.Instructional aides will also needto have 24 units in early learn-ing. By the tenth year, eachteacher will be required to holdan early learning credential inaddition to a bachelor’s degree.

Up to $500 million in fundingwill be provided to colleges anduniversities to provide courses anddegree programs. The programwill be fully phased in by 2016.

The CFT urges you to voteYES on Proposition 82.

Proposition 82

CFT supports ‘Preschoolfor All’ in June primary

CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERSElection Endorsements – Tuesday, June 6, 2006

The program will be

funded by revenues from

an additional 1.7 percent

income tax on taxable

income above $800,000

for married couples and

$400,000 for individuals

(in other words, not your

typical community college

instructor).

STATEWIDE OFFICES & PROPOSITIONS

Governor Phil Angelides

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi

Secretary of State Debra Bowen

Attorney General No Recommendation

Controller John Chiang

Treasurer Bill Lockyer

Insurance Commissioner Cruz Bustamante

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell*

Board of Equalization, District 1 Betty Yee

Board of Equalization, District 4 Judy Chu

Proposition 81 - Library Bond YES

Proposition 82 - Preschool for All YES

1 Patricia Berg*

6 Pamela Torliatt

7 Noreen Evans*

8 Lois Wolk*

9 David Jones*

11 Mark DeSaulnier

12 Fiona Ma

13 Mark Leno*

14 Loni Hancock*

16 Sandre Swanson

17 Cathleen Galgiani

18 Mary Hayashi

19 Gene Mullin*

20 Alberto Torrico*

21 Ira Ruskin*

22 Sally Lieber*

23 Joe Coto*

24 James Beall, Jr.

27 John Laird*

28 Ana Ventura Phares

30 Nicole Parra*

31 Juan Arambula*

35 Pedro Nava*

37 Ferial Masry

39 Richard Alarcon

40 Lloyd Levine*

41 Julia Brownley

42 Michael Feuer

43 Frank Quintero

44 Anthony Portantino

45 Kevin De Leon

46 Fabian Nunez*

47 Karen Bass*

49 Mike Eng

50 Hector De La Torre*

52 Mervyn Dymally*

53 Ted Lieu*

54 Betty Karnette*

55 Warren Furutani

56 Tony Mendoza

57 Edward Hernandez

58 Charles Calderon

61 Nell Soto

69 Jose Solorio

76 Lori Saldana*

78 George Gastil

79 Mary Salas

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLYAD RECOMMENDATION

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATESD RECOMMENDATION

Community college ballot initiativepostponed

A ballot initiative to stabilize community college funding andgovernance, supported by a coalition of community college organi-zations, including CFT, was originally intended for the November2006 ballot. The coalition has decided instead to begin signaturegathering on August 15 for the following regular election, whichwill take place in June 2008. The longer timeline will allow thecoalition to raise more money and mount a petition drive withmore participants, say coalition activists. For more information or tofind out how you can help in the campaign, email Dennis Smithsmithd13@aol.com, or call him: 916-446-2788.

2 Patricia “Pat” Wiggins

6 Darrell Steinberg

8 No Recommendation

10 Ellen Corbett

Johan Klehs

16 Dean Florez*

20 Cindy Montanez

22 Gilbert “Gil” Cedillo*

24 Gloria Romero*

26 Mark Ridley-Thomas

28 George Nakano

Jenny Oropeza

30 Rudolph “Rudy” Bermudez

32 Gloria Negrete McLeod

34 Lou Correa

Thomas Umberg

40 Denise Moreno Ducheny**Incumbent

May 2006 PERSPECTIVE n 5

POLITICS

While the topic remainedconsistent, the opinions covereda wide range on the politicalspectrum. Republican leadersalternated between standarddenunciations (“one more nailin the coffin to move businessesout of California”) and gleefullyrubbing their hands at what theycharacterized as the man’s appar-ent tendencies toward politicalsuicide.

But some columnists took theposition that Angelides shouldbe congratulated. As a politician

willing to utter the “T” wordwithout flinching, he is a raritythese days, and, said some writ-ers, demonstrates honesty andcourage above everyone else inthe governor’s race.

Opposite directionA few of the congratulators

also agreed with Angelides (andthe CFT) that progressive taxpolicies offer the best hope tosolve California’s budget gap.Noting in a Washington Postinterview that California is 43rd

in K-12 per-pupil spending inthe country, the Treasurer asks,“Should we wait until we’re50th? Enough is enough.”Angelides wants to go in theopposite direction, calling for arollback of college fees to pre-Schwarzenegger levels, and mak-ing up the difference with statefunds.

Unafraid even duringSchwarzenegger’s peak populari-ty moment in 2004 to challengethe former actor’s anti-tax posi-tion,Angelides brought the samemessage recently before the stateChamber of Commerce. Heasked for the business associa-tion’s support for his version of abalanced budget: one thatwould pay for increased supportfor public education and a uni-versal health care system by

recapturing a share of the taxrefunds that have flowed into thebank accounts of the wealthyduring the Bush years.[According to the most recentstudies, the top 1% of incomeearners in the United Statesholds 35% of the country’swealth.—Ed.]

Angelides notes that “Califor-nia is the richest state in therichest country in the history ofthe world,” and consequently wecan afford to educate all our

people, if that’s what we decideto do.

His Chamber listeners wereless than thrilled with Angelides’perspective. But what is notableis that he did not change histune to fit his audience, as manypoliticians do.

A consistent approachThe CFT endorsed Angelides

a year ago. That unprecedentedearly stamp of approval wasbased on the State Treasurer’sconsistent approach. WhenSchwarzenegger went after pub-lic employee pension funds,threatening to turn the definedbenefit programs of STRS andPERS into individualizeddefined contribution programs,

“Should we wait until

we're 50th? Enough is

enough.”

For a couple weeks in mid-April it was hard to open a dailynewspaper in California without bumping into a columnist ornews article ranting about State Treasurer Phil Angelides.

What were these members of the fourth estate so worked up about?Angelides’ forthright position on the need to fix California’s chronicbudget woes—and properly fund public education—throughincreased taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

Phil Angelides, CFT's endorsed candidate for California governor, fired up the crowd at a rally for education funding on the Capitol steps during the CFT convention.

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to its problematic evaluation ofCompton College (see page 8),but more broadly for a lack ofaccountability and ignoringinput from college union repre-sentatives. The resolution, whichpassed, called for the CaliforniaCommunity College SystemsOffice to investigate AACJC-WASC “and consider possiblealternatives for evaluating andaccrediting the state’s communi-ty colleges.”

A third successful resolutioncalled for the CFT to take actionto ensure that part-time facultyare accorded equal standing indistrict faculty senates with theirfull-time colleagues.The StateAcademic Senate acted onCFT’s proposal at its Spring Aca-demic Senate Plenary Sessionheld in late April.The bodyvoted to seek change in Title 5regulations to ensure the right ofpart-time faculty to participatein shared governance activities.Acomplete set of resolutions maybe downloaded from the CFTwebsite, www.cft.org.

Dues and warsTwo other resolutions generat-

ed much debate, and securedpassage. One boosted per-capitadues by slightly over three dol-lars per member per month, inorder to allow CFT to adequate-ly meet its commitments to assistlocals and serve members’ needsin Sacramento. This amount wasa compromise, as the originalresolution called for a five dollarincrease.

Delegates lined up a dozendeep at the microphones todebate Resolution 28, calling forreordering U.S. policy in Iraq.The general sentiment was neverin doubt, as the CFT has beenon record since before the 2003invasion against the incrediblewaste of lives, money andresources represented by Bush’swar, waged, as the resolutionnoted, under false pretenses. Thequestion was whether a specificclause, mandating a ‘litmus test’for political candidates beforegaining CFT electoral support,would stay in or be struck. Atthe end of debate, the clause wasremoved.

CCC meetingAs usual, the Community

College Council met during theconvention. CCC presidentMarty Hittelman reported onthe monthly consultation of fac-ulty and staff organizations with

the Chancellor. Recently theChancellor proposed to “holdharmless” several districts thatfailed to comply with staterequirements to maintain a 75%minimum ratio of full-time topart-time faculty. This actionwould have resulted in forgivingthese districts fines they owe thestate for the violation of statute.Hittelman described the discus-

sion and reported that the facul-ty organizations were unanimousin their opposition to the Chan-cellor’s proposal. (Unfortunately,on May 1 the Board of Gover-nors voted, nonetheless, to for-give the required reductions infunding for lack of compli-ance— sending a message thatthe Board of Governors is notserious about enforcing its ownregulations.)

Also during the CCC meet-ing, former CFT-CCC activistJoe Berry shared his thoughts onpart-time faculty organizing.Berry is the author of a recentlypublished book on contingentfaculty organizing in higher edu-cation (reviewed in the last issueof the Perspective). By coinci-dence, copies of the book wereon hand, and many were sold.Berry posited that there is a con-tingent faculty movement, notsimply isolated struggles, andthat it strengthens, rather thanweakens, the faculty unionmovement as a whole. He noted“when we fight, we are win-ning,” and urged his audience tocontinue to do just that.

Sims galvanizes crowdDuring the Saturday general

session, delegates sang along withlabor troubadour Jon Fromer,and also gave up several standingovations to the afternoon’s ple-nary speaker, Jinny Sims, whogalvanized the crowd with herdescription of the BritishColumbia Teachers Federation’stwo-week civil disobediencestrike last year. That job action,mobilizing nearly one hundredper cent of the K-12 teachers inthe province on the picket lines,stopped the anti-public educa-tion privatization agenda in B.C.in its tracks.

After the plenary, the BCTFleader continued with more thaneighty delegates to discuss herunion’s strategy to defend publiceducation against the corporateprivatization agenda.When theallotted workshop period ended,virtually no one left the room,and the dialog continued foranother hour.

By Fred Glass

Convention continued from page 3

Convention delegates

spent hours deliberating

resolutions to define the

organization’s policies for

the coming year.

Angelides continued on page 6

Phil Angelides for governor

6 n PERSPECTIVE May 2006

LEGISLATION

Once again, bills have beenentered into Congress to repealthe Government Pension Offset(GPO) and Windfall Elimina-tion Provision (WEP) in SocialSecurity. Public employees havelived with these unfair burdenslong enough, and CFT needsyour continued help to putpressure on your representative.We need to do this not onlybecause of the serious effectupon our members of the offsetand windfall provisions of theSocial Security Act, but alsoupon those considering leavingemployment covered underSocial Security to begin a sec-ond career as a teacher.

Negative effect for STRS membersThe “Offset” and “Windfall”

amendments to the Social Secu-rity Act negatively affect theretirement pensions of many ofthe 100,000 active members ofthe California Federation ofTeachers, specifically those whoare members of the CaliforniaState Teachers Retirement Sys-tem (STRS). The consequencesfor some current retirees inCalifornia are even more severe.

The GPO and the WEP havehad devastating consequences formore than 800,000 low- andmiddle-income public employ-ees who have seen their SocialSecurity benefits reduced oreliminated because they receive

pensions for non-Social Securi-ty-covered employment. Ourteachers, former teachers, andprospective teachers cannotcount upon a full Social Securitybenefit, either as a benefit fromwork they may have done underSocial Security or from benefitsearned by a spouse.

When Congress createdSocial Security in 1935, itexpressly excluded governmentemployees, and it was not untilthe 1950s that state and localgovernment agencies could jointhe system. Meanwhile thoseagencies developed their ownretirement systems, which tendto offer higher benefits at lowercost than Social Security.TheCalifornia State TeachersRetirement System falls intothat category.

The Government PensionOffset (1977) and the WindfallElimination Provision (1983)

were Congressional efforts tocontain the costs of the SocialSecurity program in the contextof long-term solvency.Theywere intended to curtailextraordinary benefits for highlypaid individuals, but appliedonly to public pensions.TheGovernment Pension Offset(GPO) reduced (and continuesto reduce) an individual’s SocialSecurity survivor benefits (avail-able to a person whose deceasedspouse had earned Social Secu-rity benefits) by an amountequal to two-thirds of his/herpublic pension.The WindfallElimination Provision (WEP)changed the formula used tocalculate benefit amounts,reducing an individual’s ownSocial Security benefits (earnedwhile working in a job coveredby Social Security).

Tell your storyMembers of Congress need

to hear your story about thedramatic effects of GPO and/orWEP on your current or futureincome security. Most publicemployees affected by the GPOlose their entire spousal benefit,even though the employedspouse paid Social Securitytaxes for many years.And theWEP costs many workers a sig-nificant portion of the benefits

they earned themselves.For example, an STRS retiree

can lose her entire spousal bene-fit even though her deceasedspouse paid Social Security taxesfor many years. Furthermore,some STRS retirees who survivetheir spouses face a pension off-set that deducts approximatelytwo-thirds of their own publicpension benefits from theirSocial Security survivor benefits.Additionally, the offset detri-mentally affects widowed lower-income career teachers, andpart-time faculty who haveaccrued minimal pensions froma number of sources.

As you make your Congres-sional visits, please be sure tohave this issue on your agenda,especially if your Representativeis not listed below as a supporterof the legislation.We need tourge Congress to act now so thatpublic employees will not haveto worry about retirement dueto these unfair provisions thatreduce Social Security spousaland worker benefits.ThisCongress should pass the SocialSecurity Fairness Act (H.R. 147in the House, S. 619 in the Sen-ate), which would completelyrepeal the GPO and WEP.

The conservative effort to privatize Social Security is, thank-fully, stalled in this session of Congress. Congress could,however—if it wishes to—fix an unjust existing provision of

Social Security by passing legislation that, despite overwhelmingbipartisan support, has been languishing in committee for years.

Working the FloorJudith Michaels, CFT Legislative Director

Retirement security at risk

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bill Name: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Governmentpension offset and windfall elimination provisions.

Bill Number: H.R.147

SENATE

Bill Name: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Govern-ment pension offset and windfall elimination provisions.

Bill Number: S.619

Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D)

Angelides opposed him. Indeed,as Treasurer,Angelides sits on theboards of trustees of these funds,and has led the charge to requiresane investment policies forSTRS and PERS monies,including strict standards forexecutive pay, for worker treat-ment, and for environmentalconcerns.

Angelides’ activism aroundcorporate governance and pro-tection for public employee pen-sion funds stands in sharpcontrast to GovernorSchwarzenegger, who appointedseveral trustees to STRS andthen pulled his appointmentswhen they refused to go alongwith his defined contributiontransformation scheme.

Schwarzenegger has alsorefused to consider any newtaxes. He has tried threeapproaches. The first was to bal-ance the budget through cuts,tuition and fee increases, andborrowing. The second was topush for his anti-union, anti-public employee, anti-educationspecial election. And the third isto return to plan number 1.

The other candidate, SteveWestly, is running againstAngelides in the Democraticprimary election (although thestate party has endorsedAngelides). Piling on an earlyTV commercial blitz thanks tohis deep personal pockets,Westly

had built up a double digit leadin the polls over Angelides bymid-April, triggering early deathpronouncements for theAngelides campaign by anti-labor political pundits. Notingapprovingly Westly’s “Democrat-lite” approach, these commenta-tors focused on Westly’s surfaces(he’s handsome; he’s “refreshinglynon-ideological”) compared toAngelides “radical” approach toclosing tax loopholes for thewealthy. Missing is an analysis ofWestly’s actual positions.

Early in Schwarzenegger’sterm,Westly toured the statewith him, vowing to “make thisguy successful.” To date, SteveWestly has refused to endorseany tax increases to solve Cali-fornia’s problems, includingunderfunded schools and col-leges.“I’m progressive on socialissues and fiscally moderate,” saidWestly. “Phil’s not. If voterswant a candidate who will raise10 to 15 billion dollars in taxes,they should vote for the otherguy.”

“It’s not true, as many claim,that we don’t have the money topay anymore for the CaliforniaMaster Plan’s vision of free pub-lic education for all,” says CCCPresident Marty Hittelman. “Wehave the money. It’s just in thewrong pockets.And PhilAngelides is the only candidatewho will help us to go get it.”

By Fred Glass

Angelides continued from page 5Here are the California members of congress who have signed on to the bills torepeal GPO and WEP. Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer have signed on tothe Senate vehicle.

Mike Thompson (D 1st)

John Doolittle (R 4th)

Doris Matsui (D 5th)

Lynn Woolsey (D 6th)

George Miller (D 7th)

Nancy Pelosi (D 8th)

Barbara Lee (D 9th)

Ellen Tauscher (D 10th)

Richard Pombo (R 11th)

Tom Lantos (D 12th)

Pete Fortney Stark (D 13th)

Anna Eshoo (D 14th)

Michael Honda (D 15th)

Zoe Lofgren (D 16th)

Sam Farr (D 17th)

Dennis Cardoza (D 18th)

George Radanovich (R 19th)

Jim Costa (D 20th)

Devin Nunes (R 21st)

Lois Capps (D 23rd)

Elton Gallegly (R 24th)

Howard McKeon (R 25th)

Brad Sherman (D 27th)

Howard Berman (D 28th)

Adam Schiff (D 29th)

Henry Waxman (D 30th)

Xavier Becerra (D 31st)

Hilda Solis (D 32nd)

Diane Watson (D 33rd)

Lucille Roybal-Allard (D 34th)

Maxine Waters (D 35th)

Jane Harman (D 36th)

Juanita Millender-McDonald (D 37th)

Grace Napolitano (D 38th)

Linda Sanchez (D 39th)

Ed Royce (R 40th)

Jerry Lewis (R 41st)

Gary Miller (R 42nd)

Joe Baca (D 43rd)

Ken Calvert (R 44th)

Mary Bono (R 45th)

Loretta Sanchez (D 47th)

Bob Filner (D 51st)

Susan Davis (D 53rd)

CONGRESSMEMBERS WHO HAVE SIGNED ON

warnings were especially obnox-ious, as Peralta’s CFO and thePFT, lone amongst public enti-ties, had long been working ona plan to finance its unfundedliability and a previous electionbrought in four brand newBoard members. Still, theACCJC team was initially unim-pressed.”

To Mills, the lessons are clear.“The presently constitutedACCJC has lost its way,” he says.“It is less a body willing to workwith colleges to address issues (asit was when I was on twoaccreditation teams) and more abody intent on imposing its ownviews on how education oughtto be delivered. Woe to anyunsuspecting college that has notpicked up on ACCJC’s recentshift in direction. Comptoncould happen to you.”

By David Bacon

May 2006 PERSPECTIVE n 7

NEWS

At City College of San Fran-cisco, Chancellor Philip Day sentan e-mail informing the collegecommunity of the InternationalWorkers Rights Day activitiesplanned for May 1. His e-mailmentioned plans by communityleaders calling for a nationwidewalkout to bring attention to thecontributions and rights ofimmigrant workers.The chan-cellor expressed his “support forthose of us who are passionateabout the issues surroundingimmigration” and specificallyasked administrators to beunderstanding and supportive ofthose who decide to participate,urging faculty “to be flexibleduring the walkout for thosestudents who decide to partici-pate as you consider the schedul-

ing of exams, the makeup poli-cies associated with same, atten-dance policy, and above all,maintaining a non-punitive cli-mate in the classroom oncethose students return.”

Not everyone felt the sameway. In the large ESL Depart-ment of City College, thedepartment chair had originallyscheduled an important writingexit test on Monday, May 1.When asked to move the date ofthe test to allow students andteachers to participate in theMay 1 actions, she refused to doso.After many e-mail exchangesin the “ESL non-credit chatroom,” and after the Chancellorissued his statement encouragingthe college community to takepart in the May 1 demonstra-

tions, the department chairrelented and moved up the dateof the test to April 27.

On Monday, May 1, City Col-lege faculty, staff and studentsjoined the massive demonstra-tions held in San Francisco, partof the powerful nationwideexpression of support for legal-ization of undocumented peoplein the United States.The slogan“no human being is illegal”

seemed to express the sentimentsof the tens of thousands of par-ticipants in the Bay Area alone.

On the City College maincampus, the day started with arally of about 250 teachers, staffand students who listened toinformed student and facultyspeakers and heard inspiringmusic. Students and instructorsthen marched around the cam-pus attracting more students

before heading down OceanAvenue to take public trans-portation to the demonstrationdowntown. City College Mis-sion Campus was practicallyclosed down, as hundreds ofteachers and students chose toparticipate in the walkout/boy-cott activities.

Students, faculty and staff frommany community colleges andK-12 districts around the stateparticipated in the demonstra-tions. In some cases instructorstook their students on field tripsto witness democracy in actionand to join others as active par-ticipants in the historic May 1activities.

By Allan Fisher

San Francisco Community College ESL faculty member and AFT Local 2121 Secretary Steve Goldstonholds up his end of the union's banner on May 1 during the huge immigrant workers' demonstration inSan Francisco. Hundreds of City College students marched alongside their instructors to protestpending anti-immigrant congressional action.

FREDG

LASSPH

OTO

San Francisco

Faculty and students takepart in May 1

eventsSan Francisco City College faculty have been very active in sup-

port of immigrant rights at many of the City College campusesand at the demonstrations on April 10, 23 and May 1.The AFT

2121 Delegate Assembly recently passed a resolution condemningthe passage of any bill that would criminalize immigrants and theindividuals or organizations that aid them, and would militarize theMexican-U.S. border.The resolution also endorsed the May 1 day ofaction and student actions on campus and elsewhere in support ofimmigrant rights, and encouraged City College of San Francisco fac-ulty to participate in the walkout on May 1.

The slogan “no human being is illegal” seemed to

express the sentiments of the tens of thousands of

participants in the Bay Area alone.

don’t have enough men—they’ve become a minority.”

Progressive tradition in laborThe labor studies program itself

has been in existence for thirtyyears. It serves the needs of locallabor organizations, but also seeksto make unions more responsiveboth to their own members, andto the communities of whichthey’re part. But at one time, itseemed as though labor studiesmight not survive. According toMiller,Alexander “came on boardwith me to save the labor studiesdepartment as a stand alone pro-gram devoted to the union move-ment and union members, whenthere were ideas about either cut-ting or coopting the program” byturning it into a laborstudies/human resources program.

“We have a vision of what theprogressive tradition in labor isall about,”Alexander says.

“Unions should be democratic.They should reach out to peoplewho aren’t represented. That’sespecially important for thoseworkers who were pushed ontothe sidelines by the NationalLabor Relations Act, like agri-cultural and domestic workers.”

Alexander is concerned aboutthe impact of the global econo-my. “Unions need to recognizethe effects of globalization onAmerican workers,” she urges.“Today people without a livingwage are being pitted againsteach other all over the world.The big corporations understandhow profitable this can be forthem, but the workers’ movementisn’t there yet. There should beno place in the world where peo-ple work for 10¢ an hour. Peopleshop at WalMart without think-ing about where the low pricecomes from. Instead, our firstconcern should be making surethat everyone has decent pay andworking conditions.”

In labor studies courses at SanDiego City College, instructorslike Miller talk about the mili-tant history of trade unionism—like the fight for the 8-hour day.“The things we take for grantedwere all fought for,”Alexanderemphasizes.

Author and senate leaderAlexander is also an author of

two developmental reading texts,A Community of Readers, andJoining a Community of Readers,both published by Addison Wes-ley-Longman. She says she wantstudents to become effectivereaders, which will serve themwell later in jobs and academicpursuits. “It will give them thebasis for thinking critically, anddefending their positions withreason,” she explains. As a resultof her teaching philosophy, shefinds her students often become“people able to choose betweenliving a nice middle-class life andserving the community. And

some get interested in becomingteachers themselves.”

Miller credits Alexander withbroadening faculty diversity.“Roberta is an extraordinaryteacher,” he says,“who (whilechair of the English department)was primarily responsible forbuilding an intellectually diverse,progressive department that getsalong well and is devoted to themission of serving our students.”

Perhaps not busy enough,Alexander is the president-elect ofthe SDCC Academic Senate. Hergoals in her new office remainconsistent with her work untilnow. She says she means to “pur-sue the recruitment and hiring ofdiverse faculty and staff, whoreflect the composition of the stu-dent body,” and to “develop andimplement an effective studentequity plan, to insure all studentshave better opportunities to reachtheir goals in SDCC.”

By David Bacon

Roberta continued from page 3 Compton continued from page 8

8 n PERSPECTIVE May 2006

CerritosFirst Contract Finallyin Place

Cerritos College faculty arecelebrating. After negotiating forthree years, they finally have acontract, and in the view of localunion leaders, it’s a good one.

It’s also a first contract, whichis often the hardest to negotiate.That was certainly the case here.Instructors voted for union rep-resentation way back in Novem-ber of 2002. Six hundredpart-time faculty work at theCollege, along with 300 full-time teachers. About half belongto the Cerritos College FacultyFederation,AFT Local 6215.

“I think that will change,” saysunion president David Fabish.“Having an agreement is crucialto giving us real credibility inthe eyes of our colleagues.” Infact, that process has alreadystarted. The contract was ratifiedby the faculty unanimously.And, at the recent CFT conven-tion, the local won awards formost new members and highestpercentage membership increase.

The new agreement has athree-year duration, although thefirst two years have already goneby. The contract will expire nextyear, and negotiations will beginagain, although this time, with

the strength of new membersand hard-won experience.

A clue to the reason whymight be found in the new con-tract, which includes substantialincreases in salary for part-timers. In the first year, full-timefaculty receive 2.5% raises, whilepart-timers get 5.5%. In the sec-ond year, full-timers receive3.5%, and part-timers 7.5%. Thethird year’s salary increases arepegged to the cost of living.

“We also won contract lan-guage protecting adjunct rehirerights,” Fabish notes. “For thefirst time, the district recognizesthat current part-timers shouldget first consideration for thecourses they teach. We’d obvi-ously like even stronger protec-tion, but this is our foot in thedoor, given the climate and cul-ture here. The district was veryresistant to the whole idea.”

To make progress in a firstagreement, the union and thedistrict agreed to negotiate a“short form contract,” with onlya half-dozen articles. Despitethat considerable concession bythe union, the district refused tosign off without one furtherdemand. District PresidentNoelia Vela wanted to changethe evaluation procedure forfull-time instructors.

In the past, tenured instructorscould choose between two kinds

of evaluation options: a commit-tee consisting of peer colleaguesonly, or a team that included acollege dean. The district want-ed to make the presence of thedean mandatory, and have thedean choose one of the otherteam members too. In the end,the union agreed to allow deanssome say on one appointment,while just faculty chose the oth-ers. Deans themselves would notbe included on the team.

Arbitration language was alsohotly disputed. The districtwanted arbitrators’ decisions tobe simply advisory, flying in theface of the whole nature of thearbitration process. The unionwanted decisions to be binding.Here a compromise was reachedas well, with some contract pro-vision subject to arbitration, andsome not.

“We used the negotiations as away to organize people,” Fabishsays. “We brought people outfor meetings of the Board ofTrustees, and at first we only hada dozen. But that turned into20, and then 30 and then 50angry faculty members. Teacherswore t-shirts and buttons, andheld up placards.” In the mean-time, the union developed anemail list to bombard the board,and organized tabling and speak-ing events. “We just madenoise,” Fabish says.

Help came from the LosAngeles County Federation ofLabor,Assemblymember JackieGoldberg, CCC president MartyHittelman, and CFT field repMary Millet.The union alsohired its first staff member, exec-utive director Peter Nguyen,who put his organizing experi-ence to work in the contractfight as well.

The union has begun to con-template action beyond the bar-gaining table.“I think we have tolook at political action as we getready for the next round,” saysFabish. “Next time board mem-bers are up for reelection, wewill have a say.”

ComptonAccreditation battlereveals arbitrary process

The idea that the Peralta Dis-trict should take over administra-tion of Compton CommunityCollege is a bitter pill for theSouthern California district’s fac-ulty and students, since no one,not even the California Accredit-ing Commission for Communityand Junior Colleges, holds themresponsible for the problems thatmay lead to Compton College’sloss of accreditation.

But keeping classes going ismore important than anythingelse—continuing to make edu-cation available to the low-income and minority students of

this community.“It would be extremely unfair

if we became the only area inthe state with no communitycollege,” says Rodney Murray,President of the ComptonCommunity College Federationof Employees,AFT Local 3486.“Our students are predominantlyAfrican American and Latino,and they need more education,not less. Our faculty is excel-lent, and our courses are on a parwith any other district. But themost important thing is makingsure our students are able toachieve their goals.”

The ACCJC made its decisionto withdraw Compton Commu-nity College’s accreditation lastyear, in response to a series of

fiscal crises that began in the2002-2003 school year. The col-lege was sanctioned and threat-ened with loss of itsaccreditation. In 2004 it wasplaced in trusteeship amid fur-ther investigations over allega-tions of financial corruption andmismanagement. The state’s Fis-cal Crisis Management Assis-tance Team maderecommendations for changes.But despite the fact that districtsare normally given six months toimplement similar measures, theACCJC moved to withdrawaccreditation four months later.That decision is being appealed.

The faculty union has pointedout repeatedly that faculty andstudents had no responsibility formismanagement by the district’sboard of trustees, and yet they arethe ones paying the price for it.“The allegations have nothing todo with curriculum or teaching,”Murray emphasizes. “In fact,we’re the ones who have beenholding the institution together.”

The commitment to continueto provide classes, however, hasbeen the genesis of the proposalthat another district take overadministration of the college,and use its accreditation toensure that students get creditfor their work. “Peralta steppedup to the plate,” Murray says.“They offered to lend us theiraccreditation while our system isbeing revamped.”

To Michael Mills, president ofthe Peralta Federation of Teach-ers,AFT Local 1603, the entiresituation is unfair. “This actionon the part of ACCJC was bothoutrageous and unwarranted,” hesays. “The entire process speaksof a Star Chamber operation.The ACCJC report cited onlyfiscal and governance transgres-

sions and both of these wereaddressed when State ChancellorDrummond took over theadministrative reins and assigneda fiscal monitor. Still, accredita-tion was stripped even thoughthe instructional program wasnot cited. ACCJC should haverecognized Drummond’s positiveactions and worked with him todevelop a plan. Instead, theimperious ACCJC chose toignore Drummond’s swift andresponsive acts,” he charges.“Clearly, this is an example ofACCJC and its CEO losingsight of its basic purpose, flexingits muscles and causing collegesto tremble at the prospect of anaccreditation visit.”

Whatever is necessaryMurray says Compton faculty

will do whatever is necessary tosurvive. “We would like toremain an independent district,”he emphasizes,“and we could ifthe ACCJC would give us moretime.” While the appeal hasbeen postponed, he doesn’t thinkin the end the ACCJC willchange its mind. “I think they’rejust covering their rear ends, so itlooks like they’re followingproper procedure.”

If Peralta—or some other dis-trict, which is also a possibility—does take over the district,Murray anticipates that Comp-ton would once again apply foraccreditation on its own aftertwo years. In the meantime, thedistrict’s infrastructure wouldstay in place, the union wouldremain intact, and faculty senior-ity would be preserved. Eachdistrict would keep its unioncontracts, and the seniority listswould be kept separately.

The legislature would have topass a bill permitting anotherdistrict to take over Compton’sadministration, but Murraythinks that neither legislators northe Governor want it said thatsome of California’s poorest stu-dents lost their college due totheir inaction. “They wouldn’twant it to happen on theirwatch,” he explains.

Clear lessonsBoth Murray and Mills cau-

tion faculty and student in otherdistricts to consider carefully theprecedent that is being set by theACCJC’s action. “Everyoneshould be concerned,” Murraywarns. “The ACCJC is notanswerable to anyone. Whatthey’ve done to us could happenanywhere. They’re very arro-gant, and need more oversight.”

Mills notes that “Peraltarecently experienced its ownaccreditation woes when itsfour colleges were put on warn-ing status for not having aStrategic Plan in place, for failureto address fully GASB 45, andfor having a Board accused ofmicro-managing. The last two

ActionLocal

Members of the Long Beach College Council of ClassifiedEmployees, AFT Local 6108, demonstrate outside a luncheonhonoring Long Beach College president Jan Kehoe as "Womanof the Year" by the local Soroptimist club on April 1, 2006.Local 6108 members have a less enthusiastic opinion of thecollege officer, who is presiding over stalled negotiations, nowat impasse. Local 6108 president Alta Costa has led hermembers in demonstrations at Board of Trustee meetings andelsewhere to protest the lack of respect shown classifiedemployees by the district. Classified workers in the LBCCD aresuffering a cap on their health benefits and have not receivedthe cost of living adjustment to their salary from the statepassed on to every other employee group in the district.

ALTAC

OSTA

PHO

TO

“The ACCJC is not

answerable to anyone.

What they’ve done to us

could happen anywhere.”

Compton continued on page 7