By Scott Douglas, CPFA SoCal Regional Representative In September 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 2277, which proposed increasing part-time faculty workloads in California Community Colleges from 67% to up to 85% of the […]
By Cynthia Mahabir, Laney College | Originally published in FACCCTS, Fall 2024 The Problem There’s a fundamental weakness in our California Community College system that impairs student success. Fortunately, there’s also a prospective solution. At […]
The Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor (COCAL) is a network of North American union activists who have worked for over 30 years to defend higher education rights and improve work conditions for contingent academic labor by bringing together activists from numerous unions across the United States, Mexico, English Canada, and Quebec that works to promote the sharing of information and strategies to strengthen our capacity for action. COCAL XV conference was held in Gatineau, Quebec on August 8th and 9th, 2024, with a focus on the many issues specific to contingent academic labor and the means faculty can use to mobilize directly against threats to our work conditions and our representation in universities, colleges, and community colleges.
By John Martin On September 15, 2024, Governor Newsom vetoed – yet again – a popular bill that easily passed out of both the Assembly and Senate: AB 2277, which would have raised the current […]
By Caleb Castaneda Many CalSTRS Retirees who were career adjunct instructors in California’s Community College system continue to report that their pension benefits are insufficient to even pay for rent in their area. It is […]
by Curtis Williams As a part-time member enrolled in the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), what happens to my sick leave balance when I retire? Most of us have heard it can add to […]
By Geoff Johnson, Originally published on July 30, 2024 at CFT.org CFT’s One-Tier Task force and CFT members, after over eight months of discussion, has created a definitive list of basic components deemed essential for […]
The California Community Colleges (CCC) system plays a pivotal role as an engine for economic and social mobility in California and as a driver for the fifth largest economy in the world. In the past two decades, the CCC system has undergone significant “reform,” narrowing students’ educational opportunities and shrinking the student body by over one million students. During this period, the CCC system’s student outcomes have declined, stagnated, or only slightly improved despite decades of “reform” efforts. This paper illustrates that transitioning from a two-tiered to a nontiered—unified faculty—model will better serve students, colleges, and the state of California. The concept of a unified faculty emphasizes the elimination of the two employment tiers—part-and full-time faculty—to create a nontiered structure. This model is based on faculty and collegewide unity as opposed to the current structure that has produced a divided faculty, inequitable service to students, and stagnant or diminishing student outcomes. Presently, the K-12 system and Vancouver model are structured around a unified, nontiered faculty model. It is time for the California Community Colleges to address the hypocrisy at the heart of its institutions: decades of disinvestment from the faculty and thus, students. Investing in a nontiered, unified faculty model will remedy the CCC system that is currently struggling to bring back the millions of students who have been pushed out of their colleges.
AB 2277 will increase the maximum number of instructional hours that a part-time California Community College faculty member may teach at any one community college district and allow students to build stronger relationships with existing faculty.
CPFA is seeking creative and impactful submissions that relate to part-time labor issues. We’re looking for diverse voices and formats to spark conversation and inspire action.
What Management Says Vs. the Truth By Geoff Johnson The money will go away, or it’s uncertain. Truth: The governor personally pushed for the inclusion of the 200 million dollars in ongoing funding into the […]
Assembly Bill 2277 (Wallis), our bill to raise the part-time teaching cap from 67% to 85% of a full-time course load, is now going through the political process in Sacramento. (For more on this bill, […]
CPFA is sponsoring AB-2277 (Wallis) to raise the part-time teaching limit from 67% to 85% of a full-time teaching load. If successful, this would allow for the possibility of a part-timer teaching as much as […]
On Saturday, April 20th, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the California Part-time Faculty Association (CPFA) will be hosting its annual conference virtually via Zoom. This event is free and open to everyone, but […]
AB 2277 will increase the maximum number of instructional hours that a part-time California Community College faculty member may teach at any one community college district and allow students to build stronger relationships with existing […]