Volume 43, Number 1, November 2011 Community College Council of the California Federation of Teachers American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO Old school, new media Matthew Goldstein likes old fashioned journalism, but will utilize any new communications medium if it gets the union’s message across to members and public. page 3 “Student Success:” setup for failure? The “Student Success” task force is wrapping up its work, which means it’s time for faculty to weigh in on its recommendations. page 5 Sharon Hendrickson for CalSTRS board L.A. Community College instructor Sharon Hendrickson is running for a seat on the CalSTRS board. Vote for her before November 30 so that you have an advocate. page 7 Non-Profit Oakland CA Organization Permit No. 1765 U.S. Postage Paid “We are the 99%” Why CFT supports the Occupy Wall Street movement Page 4 California Federation of Teachers 1201 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 115 Alameda, CA 94501 2 n PERSPECTIVE November 2011 EDITORIAL Taking the lead Carl Friedlander, CFT Community College Council President The California Federation of Teachers is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Student success, public employee pensions, The CFT represents over 120,000 educational employees working at every level of education in California. The CFT is committed to raising the standards of the profession and to Wall Street and the for-profits securing the conditions essential to provide the best service to California’s students. President Joshua Pechthalt here are plenty of inter- that something is alleged to Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Freitas esting questions to think have worked elsewhere is no and talk about these guarantee that it will work here. “Reforms” viewed by “insiders” as being forcibly imposed Perspective is published three times during the T academic year by CFT’s Community College days in the world of community “Reforms” viewed by “insiders” Council. college faculty unions. Here is as being forcibly imposed by by “outsiders” are doomed to fail. “outsiders” are doomed to fail. my top three: The recent history of ACCJC’s the elimination of “air time”). into and unleashed. It gives us COMMUNITY COLLEGE COUNCIL SLO push in the California We should support a reasonable greater hope that we can begin President Carl Friedlander • What do we think of the community colleges and of No cap on pensionable salary, real to change the tax structure of Los Angeles College Guild, Local 1521 recommendations of the Child Left Behind in America’s steps to address CalSTRS’ long California by passing a progres- 3356 Barham Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90068 Student Success Task Force? Email [email protected] public K-12 schools should be term funding challenges, and sive tax initiative in November Direct inquiries regarding the Community Which deserve our support? caution enough. other changes. And right now, 2012, and thus begin to restore College Council to Carl Friedlander Which warrant our opposi- the most important thing that funding for community colleges tion? What modifications By blocking the early versions each of us can do to ensure a and other public services. Southern Vice President Jim Mahler of SB 1143 and instead creating level-headed discussion of these AFT Guild, San Diego and Grossmont- should we be urging? a Task Force which included issues on the CalSTRS board is We need to explain to Cuyamaca Community Colleges, Local 1931 3737 Camino del Rio South, Suite 410 • What shape will “pension some of our brightest and most to make sure our colleagues cast the public that Wall Street – United Labor Center Bldg. reform” take? Who will engaged faculty (identified by their votes for Sharon Hendricks through publicly traded compa- San Diego, CA 92108 drive it—the Governor, the the ASCCC leadership), the for the community college seat nies and private equity – owns system kept the “experts” from on the CalSTRS board before sleazy for-profit colleges that Northern Vice President Dean Murakami Joint Legislative Committee, running amok and the Task November 30. take advantage of almost two Los Rios College Federation of Teachers the voters through a ballot Force from going off the rails. million students to earn outra- AFT Local 2279 initiative? How can we best 1127 – 11th Street, #806 geous profits by collecting over Sacramento, CA 95814 influence the outcome? Now, faculty across the state Community Colleges and $30 billion in Pell grants and should weigh in; if this takes Occupy Wall Street student loans. Secretary Kathy Holland • What do Occupy Wall St. more time than SB 1143 allot- All of us are thrilled to witness Los Angeles College Guild, Local 1521, and its progeny have to do ted, the timeframe should be and participate in the outpour- The fight against Wall Street 3356 Barham Blvd., with community colleges? extended. There are some very ing of progressive and youthful must, in part, be a fight to de- Los Angeles, CA 90068 impractical proposals in the re- energy that the Occupy Wall fend and fund public higher Editor Fred Glass port that will collapse in and of Street movement has tapped education. Layout Design Action Collective Student success task force themselves—either because fund- recommendations: faculty ing is not available or because EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Direct editorial submissions to: input, more time needed technology is not the miracu- Editor, Community College Perspective. Faculty are of many minds lous cost-saving, staff-replacing California Federation of Teachers about the specific recommenda- savior that some Task Force MARK YOUR 2011-2012 CALENDAR 1201 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 115 tions that have emerged from “outside” members imagine it to Alameda, CA 94501 the Task Force created by the be. Instead of focusing on these, Telephone 510-523-5238 State Chancellor’s Office after faculty should turn their attention Fax 510-523-5262 December 3 Community College Council, Hilton Oakland Email [email protected] being mandated by SB 1143 to those recommendations that Web www.cft.org (Liu) (see article page 5). But could actually be implemented Airport one thing is clear: faculty par- but need to be improved. TO ADVERTISE Contact the CFT Secretary-Treasurer for a ticipation is key. January 10, 2012 Deadline for high school seniors to submit CFT Finally, we need to keep current rate card and advertising policies. Had SB 1143 been passed and reminding everybody that ad- scholarship applications Jeff Freitas, Secretary-Treasurer California Federation of Teachers signed in its initial form (insti- equate faculty staffing – includ- 2550 North Hollywood Way, Ste. 400 tuting a “performance based ing a significant expansion of January 21 CFT Executive Council, CFT office, Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 funding” or “PBF” mechanism the fulltime faculty ranks – is Telephone 818-843-8226 in the California community essential to improving student February 4 CFT Committees, Hilton Oakland Airport Fax 818-843-4662 colleges), our system would success. Email [email protected] likely now be at war with it- Although advertisements are screened as February 9 – 10 CFT Leadership Conference, Crowne Plaza SFO, carefully as possible, acceptance of an self. The push for PBF by advertisement does not imply CFT endorsement outside “experts” like Nancy Whither pension reform? Burlingame of the product or service. Shulock, the L.A. Chamber, Changes to public pensions Perspective is a member of the International and the Campaign for College in California are coming. We Labor Communications Association and AFT February 17 Constitutional amendments due for CFT Convention Communications Association. Opportunity would have gener- must ensure that defined ben- Perspective is printed and mailed by the all-union, ated strife and distrust. Studying efit systems are preserved, but April 13 – 15 CFT Convention, Fairmont Hotel, San Jose environmentally friendly Howard Quinn Company experience in other states and they can’t be preserved “as is” in San Francisco, California, using soy-based inks. systems is valuable, but the fact or with only minor tweaks (like 869-M Cover: San Diego City College professor Jim Miller reads CFT statement of solidarity with Occupy Wall Street to crowd at Occupy San Diego rally. More CFT news: www.cft.org FRED LONIDIER PHOTO November 2011 PERSPECTIVE n 3 MEMBER PROFILE Peralta’s Matthew Goldstein Building the union by communicating D with members AVID BACON P HOTO ou might expect an English teacher to value good commu- nication. But when the Peralta Federation of Teachers put YMatthew Goldstein to work as a part time communications director a few years ago, the local wanted him to do more than issue grammatically-correct leaflets. With the support of then-President Debra Weintraub and other active members of the local, Goldstein helped to bring the union into the era of new media. Today the union sends out a our attention.” But the e-news- twice-monthly electronic news- letter archive is evidence that the letter by email to faculty at the union continues to concentrate four campuses of the Peralta on key questions. One hot ques- Community College District. tion is the recent tendency in It issues a periodic electronic the district to hire consultants, “Board Watch” as well, helping while cutting jobs, especially for members keep track of decisions part time faculty. made at past meetings of the Board of Trustees, and prepare The latest e-newsletter noted: for coming ones. “Among the agenda items be- fore the board tonight are four Matthew Goldstein makes sure his members can contact him every way possible. “We already had a paper that together authorize ladling newsletter we put out twice a out over half a million dollars to semester,” Goldstein explains, consultants, including $84.5K to After he got his PhD, he the University of California. Several years later, degrees “which we would supplement Bob Barr for ‘professional insti- worked for Bay Area dot coms, He got another job as a gradu- in hand, Goldstein got a job with special bulletins during tutional effectiveness services’; “getting paid fantastic sums, ate student employee, and was at Laney College, one of the contract campaigns.