Greetings from the Cal State Fullerton Lecturers Council
Greetings Lecturers:
It is my pleasure to once again introduce us to you as the Lecturer Representatives for the CSU Fullerton Chapter of the California Faculty Association through this first issue of the online newsletter. We will be updating you on the latest developments within the campus and our union. You have probably received email correspondence from CFA regarding the prospect of losing our hard won wage increase as a result of the state budget impasse. Fortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a 2007/2008 budget which left in tact the 4% “Compact” funding increase for the CSU system. Though we have achieved a modicum of professional respect, reasonable working conditions, and a fair salary, our challenge is to keep these hard won gains! We must do so by building lecturer power. Our goal is to see to it that you are “in the loop” of information that will enable us to act swiftly when necessary at the very appearance of a “roll back” which was the case when we (along with other supporters) successfully urged state Senate and Assembly leaders to protect CSU funding.
Currently, we need lecturer visibility on campus. We have also included a “Quick Guide to Lecturer Provisions in CFA/CSU Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in this page. If you observe and experience any compromise related to lecturer provisions, please be sure to keep thorough records and detailed documentation that will aid in expediting your potential grievance in a timely manner. We also strongly suggest you to report any action related to the state crisis budget through Reporting Employment Changes webform. In addition, we invite you to submit relevant articles and information to this newsletter so that our power flows from lecturer to lecturer.
Joseph Greco
Seminar "Lecturers: Know Your Rights"
by Administrator | Mon, 10/20/2008 - 13:37Your SJSU-CFA chapter is offering two identical workshops on Unemployment Benefits that 99% of lecturers are legally entitled to every Summer and Winter break. Unless you have a 1.0 (full time) unconditional appointment, you are eligible. These is true whether you have an academic year or a 3 year "contract" and have your salary disbursed over 12 months. Come attend a Nuts & Bolts workshop that will walk you through the application process and provide you with knowledge that will be of direct benefit to you.
Workshop #1: Thursday, November 6, 2008
from 11:30 AM - 01:30 PM in the Hetebrink AB
Workshop #2: Thursday, November 6, 2008
from 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM in the Academic Senate Chamber
Food and drink will be provided, as always!
If interested in attending, please RSVP to your Lecturer Rep. Jonathan Karpf no later than November 1 at jkarpf@email.sjsu.edu and please include the following information:
- your name
- your department
- your campus and/or other phone contact
- which workshop (Thursday or Friday you would like to attend)
NOTE: Do not reply to this CFA email! Please RSVP to Jonathan at the email address above!
Course Reductions Justified by Threatened Budget Cuts
To: Lecturer Activists, Faculty Rights Committees, Field Staff
From: Bernhard Rohrbacher, Director of Representation
Dear Friends,
At various campuses, faculty are being told that the number of courses will be reduced and/or class size will be increased as a result of the threatened budget cuts. Where we have brought examples of this to the attention of the Chancellor's Office, we have obtained some promising results. If need be, we will file grievances whenever possible. To be able to aggressively pursue this issue, we need more examples. If you know of any examples, please tell me about them, preferably by forwarding me e-mails or documents from chairs and higher administrators that prove the point. At a minimum, please provide me with a detailed account of who said what where, including the departments or colleges involved. You cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Best,
Bernhard Rohrbacher
Director of Representation
California Faculty Association
5933 W. Century Blvd., Suite 220
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Tel. (310) 641-4430
Fax (310) 410-1240
A Quick Guide to Article 10 Changes for CFA Activists
by Administrator | Thu, 04/24/2008 - 16:05DEFINITIONS:
Statutory Grievance Track: Track for grievances using the new Faculty Hearing Committee process
Contractual Grievance Track: Track for grievances using the previously established contractual process (no faculty hearing committee)
Faculty Hearing Panel: the large pool of faculty members elected by their departments from which small faculty hearing committees are chosen.
Faculty Hearing Committees: the smaller committees, chosen by lot from the Faculty Hearing Panel that will hear individual grievances under the statutory grievance track.
Quick Guide to Lecturer Provisions in CFA/CSU Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 2006-2010
by Administrator | Thu, 04/24/2008 - 15:57This quick guide refers you to CBA articles with provisions that are particularly relevant to lecturers (faculty on full or part-time temporary appointments). The CBA is available at CFA's web site: http://www.calfac.org. For further information, refer to the Lecturers’ Handbook or contact CFA.
Report on Student Evaluations of Teaching
by Administrator | Thu, 04/24/2008 - 11:59In recognition of unresolved concerns regarding student evaluation practices, California Faculty Association (CFA) and the California State University (CSU) agreed to form a joint committee to study “the best and most effective practices for the student evaluation of faculty teaching effectiveness.” The article further stipulated that the committee’s work should include a review of instruments used for student evaluation as well as on-line evaluation, and that possible bias factors would also be considered. Given the central role of shared governance in establishing policies regarding student evaluations of teaching on the campuses, the parties further agreed that the committee would include representation from the Academic Senate of the CSU.
