Though SCD has yet to answer our requests for information on the budget realities and their reduction plans, last week our negotiations co-chairs sent administration our official demand-to-bargain notice on furloughs. With this notice, we officially opened up negotiations on the “offer” SCD presented on May 2 to reduce hours as a way to avoid a reduction in force.
We do not know when these negotiations will begin, but the strategy is to keep them separate from our CBA negotiations. Our negotiations co-chairs, Dave Ellenwood and Cristóbal Borges, will be coordinating these negotiations.
In demanding to bargain furloughs, It is our intent to stand with our union siblings in WFSE and Prostaff and fight hard against furloughs, which will impact student-facing positions disproportionately.
Although administration claims that our three unions have been involved in this "budgeting," the three unions have NOT signed off on their devastating budget cuts; our job is to FIGHT HARD for ourselves, our students and our working conditions, not to tell them what cuts we'd like to see.
Union(s) Response Team(s)
Because there are so many moving parts to these budget reductions, which involve the CBA (collective bargaining agreement), negotiations, and college-level concerns and organizing, AFT 1789 has put together Furloughs/RIFs/Cuts teams for each college, made up of Faculty Senate/Steward Council chairs, college grievance chairs, and negotiations chairs. These teams will gather information, keep each other apprised of what is going on at each College, and will also be meeting together with our union siblings in WFSE and Prostaff to develop strategy so we can gather and share as much information as possible, and we can fight back as effectively and in concert.
Here are the teams for each college, as well as how to contact them if you have questions/concerns/information to share.
(Please note that members recently voted to change “Faculty Senates” to “Faculty Stewards Councils”)
Seattle Central College
Jay McLean-Riggs, Seattle Central Faculty Steward Council Chair central@aftseattle.org
Chad Miles and Brendan Manley, Central Grievance Co-chairs, grievance_central@aftseattle.org
Dave Ellenwood, Negotiations Co-chair, negotiations@aftseattle.org
South Seattle College
Alex Korsunsky; Ila de Leon; Charlotte Brun South Faculty Steward Council Chairs south@aftseattle.org
Jes Pikul and Steph Hankinson, South Grievance Co-Chairs grievance_south@aftseattle.org
Julian Barr, District Grievance chair (representing Negotiations Team) grievance@aftseattle.org
North Seattle College
Lyle Crews, North Faculty Steward Council Chair, north@aftseattle.org
Justina Rompogren, North Grievance Chair, grievance_north@aftseattle.org
Cristóbal Borges, Negotiations Co-chair, negotiations@aftseattle.org
The YOU in “UNION!”
We need to hear from YOU about what cuts you’ve been seeing and hearing about, in part because Admin is not publicly addressing the cuts that have ALREADY been implemented, the jobs that have ALREADY been lost. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey to let us know what you have been seeing and hearing in your departments and divisions, and what impacts you are living and witnessing. We will use this information to organize faculty and escalate our actions against “right-sizing” WRONG, and to daylight the devastating impacts that are ALREADY happening.
SPEAK UP at the Board of Trustees Meeting Thursday June 12 2-30-5pm, at South and on Zoom
And, if you’d like to share your observations and experiences at the June 12 Board of Trustees meeting, when the Board will vote on SCD’s proposed budget, you can sign up for public comment at this link! The meeting will be on zoom, but you can also tell them in person at South Seattle College starting at 2:30pm!