Fall 2020 Counter Convocation
Faculty, Staff, and Students object to austerity measures, coming together for a Counter Convication.
American Federation of Teachers Local 1789, representing faculty of the Seattle College District, is proud to make the following endorsements in this year’s elections:
Additionally, we are proud to stand with Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant against the campaign to recall her from the council.
We know that these candidates are and will continue to be strong advocates for the needs of our members, our students, our community, and our siblings in organized labor. We look forward to working with them to fight for better working and living conditions in our city.
The results of the AFT 1789 Executive Board election are in, and here is your new eboard:
District Secretary: Althea Lazzaro
Treasurer: Marla Robinson
Membership Chair: Sharon Spence-Wilcox
Communications/Technology Chair: Alyssa Jocson Porter
Negotiations Chair: David Krull
Political Action Chair: Jill Lane
Professional Issues Chair: Alecia Spooner
Human and Civil Rights Chair: Cristóbal A. Borges
District President for Part-time Faculty: Natalie Simmons
Faculty Senate President for North Seattle College: Jim Jewell
Faculty Senate President for Seattle Central College: Helena Ribeiro
Representative for Part-time Faculty at Seattle Central College: Mia Bailey
To everyone who voted, you are making our union stronger. Keep up the good work.
The Seattle Colleges District website gives the public information about our current financial situation and the District’s decisions regarding the situation. AFT Seattle finds sections of the information to be objectionable to faculty, creating an administrative narrative that we believe shows faculty in a negative light.
"According to the District’s audited financial statements, six years ago, the District spent 51% of its budget on instruction and by 2018 instruction funding fell to 41% of the budget. Now, Seattle Central has announced that 75% of 2020–2021 anticipated cuts should come from instruction. If North and South take the same path, instruction could fall to barely a third of the District’s operating revenue."
https://southseattleemerald.com/2020/11/06/opinion-seattle-colleges-in-c...
Patience—counseled by former Vice President Joe Biden all election week as Americans waited for votes to be counted—finally paid off Nov. 7, four days after Election Day, when Biden won in Pennsylvania and gained enough Electoral College votes to acquire a new title: president-elect. AFT President Randi Weingarten says the union’s leaders and members “can’t wait to get started” on the work ahead “with an administration that will embrace and fight for the values we hold dear.”
Yesterday was our first mediation session with the District. We elected to use a mediator to facilitate our negotiation sessions following our September 11th joint session because we were not making forward progress on several issues.