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Local Candidate Endorsements from AFT 1789

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.

Amazon fights unionization: NY Times article

"Over two decades, as the internet retailer mushroomed from a virtual bookstore into a $1.5 trillion behemoth, it forcefully — and successfully — resisted employee efforts to organize. Some workers in recent years agitated for change in Staten Island, Chicago, Sacramento and Minnesota, but the impact was negligible."

Bill Hough Jr., the machinist at the Chester warehouse who led the union drive, was fired in 2016.

"Now Amazon faces a union vote at a warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. — the largest and most viable U.S. labor challenge in its history. Nearly 6,000 workers have until March 29 to decide whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. A labor victory could energize workers in other U.S. communities, where Amazon has more than 800 warehouses employing more than 500,000 people.

“'This is happening in the toughest state, with the toughest company, at the toughest moment,' said Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. 'If the union can prevail given those three facts, it will send a message that Amazon is organizable everywhere.'

"Even if the union does not prevail, 'the history of unions is always about failing forward,' she said. 'Workers trying, workers losing, workers trying again.'

"The effort in Chester, which The Times reconstructed with documents from regulators and the machinists’ union, as well as interviews with former facilities technicians at the warehouse and union officials, offers one of the fullest pictures of what encourages Amazon workers to open the door to a union — and what techniques the company uses to slam the door and nail it shut."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html

Furlough bill heard in Senate Ways and Means

Jan. 28 — As the state looks to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Senate Ways and Means Committee took up at its Thursday hearing a bill that would require most state employees to take 24 furlough days during the 2021-23 biennium. SB 5323 would also prohibit state agencies from granting salary and wage increases for exempt and Washington Management Service employees in the biennium. The bill comes at the request of the Office of Financial Management.

Testifying on behalf of the community and technical college system were Dr. Amy Morrison, president of Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Dr. Ed Brewster, interim president of Grays Harbor College, Dr. Bob Mohrbacher, president of Centralia College, and Glenn Johnson, a trustee for the Community Colleges of Spokane.

“At its core this bill is a pay cut. Just two years ago, this legislature made historic strides making long-overdue investments and operating and capital budget supports for our colleges, including pay increases to ensure that our hard-working employees were competitive with benchmark states,” Morrison said.

She also expressed concern that while the classified and exempt employees can choose their furlough days, faculty are not able to do so. Additionally, she said, faculty in-service days would be used as furlough days, eliminating opportunities for diversity, equity and inclusion professional development work, advising, and developing education best practices.

 

AFT 1789 Supports Protecting Personal Information of Electors

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“The Executive Board of AFT Seattle Local1789 wishes to express our support for your efforts to get an exemption from disclosure of personal contact information for your 2020 candidates and campaign
personnel,” Stofer wrote. “We agree wholeheartedly that you have a right to protect the names and addresses of your members from those who may wish to cause harm. We also understand the necessity of upholding freedom of association and the right to privacy in those choices.
“We wish you success in your legal case. That success is important to all of us who might become the target of attacks on personal freedoms. We must defend the voice of awide variety of political opinions. It is intolerable thats ome seek to shut down political participation by threats and intimidation,”she said. 
Members of this AFT local are familiar with what is at issue. They’ve been fighting for years efforts by the notoriously anti-union Freedom Foundation to use the state’s disclosure laws to force college authorities to turn over names, addresses, ages and other personal information of campus employees. They say they want the information to try and get workers to quit the union.

Read the article: http://aftseattle.wa.aft.org/sites/default/files/article_pdf_files/2020-12/teachers_union_supports_swp_disclosure_fight_in_washington_-_the_militant_-_copy.pdf

Seattle Promise couldn’t have come at a better time.

Seattle Promise couldn’t have come at a better time. Despite the hurdles, the program has exceeded its pandemic-era enrollment projections. That’s even as nationally, community colleges saw a 22% dip; statewide, community college enrollment is down 13.5% this year.

This fall, Seattle Promise counted 846 students, including 699 in their first year, and 147 in their second. That represents about one-third of Seattle Public Schools’ class of 2020. And 62% are students of color.

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/seattles-tuition-free-community-college-program-comes-to-the-rescue-during-the-pandemic/

OPINION: Seattle Colleges in Crisis, but Harmful Budget Cuts are not the Answer

"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-…

AFT 1789 signs onto the Solidarity Budget: A Call to Action for 2021 Budget and Beyond

"We call on City leaders to pass a 2021 budget that values Black lives and moves us towards a just recovery from the overlapping crises of COVID-19, economic injustice and climate change. "

Solidarity Budget: A Call to Action for 2021 Budget and Beyond

Membership Adopts Statement Against Hate

AFT Seattle Local 1789 condemns hate and violence in all forms. We stand against white supremacy and nationalism, bigotry, racism, religious intolerance, homophobia, sexism, and immigrant bashing. The members of our faculty union vow to work for a healthy, inclusive community where the rights and safety of all are protected. We fight for social justice. We vote to defend all members of our society and to strengthen our democratic principles.

AFT Statement of Support for Our Students, Colleagues, and Communities

Adopted by AFT Seattle Local 1789 and AFT Seattle Pro-Staff Local 6550


As Faculty members and Professional staff, we are committed to visibly promote safe workplaces, classrooms and communities, especially in the current climate of hate and fear that is taking a toll on our campus and campuses around the country. As educators, we must act to defend the ideals upon which our college is founded and the people who bring them to life. We stand in solidarity with our Muslim, Jewish, immigrant, undocumented, LGBTQ, disabled, black

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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:

There are 2 parts: a deficit in salary for all WA state faculty and Regional pay differences


1.       Deficit in salary for all WA state faculty:  Washington State faculty are behind Peer States (CA, ID

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