Over the past year, college administrators, union leaders and others in the Puget Sound area have been pushing for the idea of a “regional pay” adjustment to reflect cost of living in the greater Seattle area. To that end, legislative funding was secured to conduct this study on regional pay issues to inform legislators on that topic and begin a debate.
Key Numbers and Findings from the Study:
On December 9, the Seattle Times Editorial Board published an opinion piece supporting better funding at the State level for community colleges across Washington. The board acknowledged that while k-12 funding has been appropriately addressed, the community colleges have been left behind, while stll doing the heavy lifting for employment training. They call the SBCTC's $189 million request "relatively modest"
It’s time to escalate! Legislators are hammering away at policy and making amazing progress on a slew of great bills. What they haven’t been focused on is funding our colleges and finding new revenue. This process is nothing new. In budget years, they work through policy first, having small conversations on the budget, up until policy cutoffs are all completed. We knew this would happen and we anticipated how those conversations would go, but frankly, we expected more support from the people we helped put into office.
What: Walk out organized by AFT Seattle Local 1789 in conjunction with affiliate unions and with support from District administration.
Who: all Seattle Colleges stakeholders--faculty, staff, students, and supporters from across the state.
When: Tuesday, April 16, 2019, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Mass gathering 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Where: locations at North, South and Central campus
"Faculty and staff who have been organizing against budget cuts and “austerity” have been demanding worker-led decisions. Indications that workers and students are not involved in considerably impactful decisions aren’t hard to find.
AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column outlines the urgency of using our voices—our votes—in this life-changing election, when we will make a choice “between President Donald Trump, who has trafficked in chaos, fear, lies and division, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who seeks to reverse Trump’s failures on COVID-19 and the economy, and to unite and uplift the American people.” Besides the four crises we face—a pandemic, an economic crisis, racism and a climate emergency—democracy itself is on the ballot, as Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
In her September New York Times column, AFT President Randi Weingarten says that going back to school has never looked like it does now. Weingarten explains that because of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus, which has been chaotic, contradictory and inept, and the lack of federal guidance and funding, we’re seeing a patchwork of school reopening plans across the country.
As the presidential elections inch closer and the field of candidates gets more and more competitive, AFT members are engaging, parsing campaign platforms, asking questions of the candidates, and voicing their priorities as educators, healthcare practitioners and public employees. Thus far, the AFT has hosted eight AFT Votes town halls in eight different locations across the country, giving members the opportunity to meet candidates in person and hear about their stands on education, working families, healthcare and other top-line issues. Also part of the AFT’s robust endorsement process: surveys, debate parties and lots of information on AFTVotes.org.