Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1400485
Staying Informed Don't miss CTA's award- winning publications that spotlight important issues in our public schools and community colleges, as well as amazing members who go above and beyond to reach students. CTA's official magazine, California Educator, is published every two months, mailed to all members and updated regularly at cta.org/educator. Printed four times a year, CCA Advocate is the official publication of the Community College Association, CTA's affiliate union representing community college faculty and educators across the state. And don't forget our home on the web, the newly redesigned cta.org, which makes it easier than ever to find educator resources and information about upcoming CTA events, conferences and professional development opportunities. Updated and upgraded in 2020 with more to come in the months ahead, cta.org is a one-stop shop for all things CTA. Whether you're looking for news about public schools, learning about our positions and goals for the next election, or seeking to help advocate and take action for our students, you'll find what you need at cta.org. www.CTA.org Sometimes you just want to turn the page and learn about what's going on with public schools and colleges. Connecting Your World Get social, connect with educators and take the movement digital! The world interacts on social media, and CTA members are there. And it's not just sharing memes and pictures of food. CTA members are talking about some major issues on CTA social media pages and in online groups — engaging in dialogues and sharing resources about equity, social justice, classroom techniques, distance learning, education trends, and ways to get connected with CTA and the movement for the schools all students deserve. Join the conversation using the hashtag #WeAreCTA to connect with educators from CTA and beyond to discuss education, share teaching and learning tips, and take the fight for public schools digital. 10 M E M B E R S H I P M A N U A L ADVOCATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASSOCIATION Volume 56 Number 2 JANUARY 2021 Please see PART - TIME FACULTY, p. 4 The Official Newspaper of the Community College Association/CTA-NEA Part-Time Faculty Continue Fight for Parity CCA Working To Win Equity and Respect for All Winter Conference Spotlights Advocacy Jan. 29-30: Register Today for Virtual Event — Free for Members W H I L E M O S T E D U C A T O R S are less than enthusiastic about the role politics plays in education, the fact remains that effective advocacy and engagement with leaders and elected officials is critical to success at the bargaining table and growing strength in local associations. In this spirit, the 2021 CCA Winter Conference is focusing on advocacy and activism to build power, defend members, the colleges that all While the pandemic may keep us from meeting physically, CCA President Eric Kaljumägi says, staying connected as colleagues and union members is important, especially with so many challenges at hand. "Please join us for this informative conference to help build our skills and grow our union," he says. "Now more than ever, we need to advocate effectively for our safety, the health of our students and communities, and the vitality of date knowledge on bargaining law and district budgets, all in an interactive, team-based session. e Bargaining Academy is limited to the first 40 participants who register. A minimum of two participants from a bargaining team is required for a chapter to participate, and advance registration is required. Register using the form located online at cca4us.org/conferences and submit by Jan. 22. (Note: Participants must register separately for the Bargaining Academy in addition to registering for the L I K E M O S T P A R T - T I M E F A C U L T Y, Long Beach City College adjunct professor Karen Roberts applies for unemployment benefits at the end of every semester. Even after 20 years teaching art history at colleges throughout Southern California, Roberts relies on the state's social safety net when colleges are closed for break. "This will get me through the winter," says Roberts, past president of Long Beach City College Certificated Hourly Instructors. "Every semester, we have to educate our members about unemployment." The lack of certainty about work is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the disparities endured by part-time faculty in community colleges across the state. Part- time faculty are paid less than their full-time colleagues, receive fewer benefits, often need to purchase their own supplies, and even have to fight for office space on campus. Roberts says her contract stipulates that the college provide shared office space to all part- time faculty "when feasible," though there is usually not enough for everyone. Approximately 70 percent of community college courses are taught by part-time faculty, who often split their time at multiple colleges to make ends meet due to course caps. John Sullivan has been teaching English composition at two community colleges for 23 years, adding in work at a third college or university to earn enough to live. "I teach on average five to six classes a semester to try to cobble together enough work to pay the bills," says Sullivan, CCA secretary and a Riverside CCD Faculty Association member. Every semester, we have to educate our members about unemployment. ADVOCATE ADVOCATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASSOCIATION Volume 56 Number 3 MARCH 2021 The Official Newspaper of the Community College Association/CTA-NEA Part-time Community College Faculty Face Challenges By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Adjuncts are paid much less than full-time faculty, and by law must have the same minimum qualifications. The salary gap varies from campus to campus; some adjuncts make half the salary of full-time instructors. Some adjuncts can't afford health insurance. When Holland was injured in a motorcycle accident, she used the settlement from insurance to pay her hospital bills because she doesn't have health insurance. Neither does Seddighzadeh; she and her children use the emergency room when ill. Perales has an extremely high deductible and pays for all her prescriptions out of pocket. Dana DeMercurio, an adjunct professor who teaches communication studies at four campuses — Folsom Lake, Sierra and San Joaquin Delta colleges plus a school in Michigan — says the amount she pays for health care is based on her workload. When her courses are cut and her income goes down, the amount increases. When DeMercurio shares that she works at four colleges and teaches 27 units, people assume that she makes a good living. They are surprised to learn that despite the prestige of being a college professor, she The situation is an issue of fairness and compassion, says CTA President E. Toby Boyd. "CTA works on behalf of all educators to ensure they are supported professionally and treated with dignity," he says. "Adjunct professors should not be living in poverty or barely scraping by because of unfair pay systems. That's why CTA and CCA are co-sponsoring Assembly Bill 1269." (See PAGE 3) Why are adjunct FACULTY underpaid? Community colleges made a conscious choice to hire more part-time than full-time employees to deliver high-quality, low-cost instruction. Hiring lots of part-time educators saves money, because colleges can pay them less in salary and benefits. "Prior to Prop. 13, almost all of the community college faculty was full time," recalls CCA President Eric Kaljumägi, a mathematics professor at Mt. San Antonio College. "At that time, funding for colleges was cut. Now you have tens of thousands of part- time instructors. At my school, our part-time English faculty peaked at 100, which could probably be filled by 45 full-time positions." As at-will employees, adjuncts can be let go without cause. When enrollment drops, their classes may be reassigned to other faculty, leaving them scrambling. Some adjuncts say they feel like second-class citizens and their full-time colleagues are unaware of the challenges they face. While some individuals teach part time as a second job or for supplemental family These adjunct faculty struggle to survive in regular times, but life in a pandemic has become even more stressful, as some colleges have cut classes and side jobs have dried up. Before the pandemic, many adjuncts spent hours driving from college to college as "freeway flyers," but most work online now. Chantel Perales has a teaching load of 18 units this semester between San Joaquin Delta College, Los Rios CCD and Contra Costa CCD. The English professor has a master's degree but makes half of what a full-time professor makes at any of the colleges where she teaches. Survival, she says, is a struggle. Chris Holland has been teaching communication studies part time in Bakersfield College for a decade, hoping it might lead to a full-time tenured position. Recently classes that she was scheduled to teach were eliminated, leaving her with just three units. So Holland, who has a master's degree, works for Instacart to pay the bills Noushin Seddighzadeh, a part-time math teacher at five campuses — including Saddleback, Orange Coast and Santa Ana colleges — has a master's degree in math and finance. But she makes so little money from all her part-time jobs that she can't support her children without driving for Amazon delivering groceries.