CPFA Press Release 3/3/10 ~ pdf version

Statewide Faculty Advocacy Group Lauds New Bill

A strong coalition of community college leaders from the state’s major unions and advocacy groups, spearheaded by the California Part-time Faculty Association, has just announced the introduction of a new Assembly bill that would provide first-time-ever rehire rights for part-time faculty.

AB 1807 was jointly authored by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-22) and Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-35), with Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-12) as principal co-author.

This bill would require community college districts to place qualified part-time faculty on a reemployment preference list, which would provide them with the right of first refusal for any teaching assignment in his or her teaching specialty.

Currently, part-time faculty in many districts have no contractual protection against losing their teaching position to a faculty member with far less experience, or even a brand-new hire. Districts with no contract provisions to the contrary typically refuse to rehire a seasoned part-time faculty member who is at a higher salary level in favor of a cheaper, less experienced new hire.

“Districts claim such tactics are a legitimate way to reduce personnel costs,” says John Martin, CPFA President, “but the end result is devastating to the entire system. Part-time faculty never know whether they will suffer arbitrary dismissal at the end of a term simply because districts can let them go without cause or with no due process (unlike their tenured counterparts). In the meantime, students risk losing the valuable benefit of qualified and skilled instructors.”

Backers of the bill emphasize that AB 1807 will be a major step in protecting the employment rights of the 45,000 community college associate faculty in California. The Assembly Higher Education Committee will hold its first hearing on the bill March 16.

The California Part-time Faculty Association was created in 1998, when part-time faculty representing 30 community colleges came together to address the twin issues of improving the status of part-time faculty and providing quality education for California's students.

Today, CPFA has members in more than 50 colleges throughout California, and has become one of the state’s strongest and most respected voices for part-time faculty.