Guild News: The Year Ahead

by Zohara Kaye

Guild President

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Glendale College Guild

@GCCGuild

Welcome back to the 2015-16 academic year at Glendale Community College.  I would also like to extend a warm welcome to all the new faculty joining our full-time and adjunct ranks.   I, along with the rest of the Guild Executive Committee, look forward to meeting all of you.

This year, our budget is better than it has been in years, with many cuts being restored, new funds to hire full-time faculty, and over $4 million in the unrestricted budget for negotiating raises and other money items.  We also have multiple sources of grant money, including Student Equity, Student Success, Basic Skills, and Gateway/GAUSS Title V grants. Many of you are already involved with proposals related to these grants, and there will be additional opportunities to get involved, so look out for calls for proposals or stipend opportunities provided by these grants.

Our Negotiating Team began meeting with the District team on September 3, 2015, eager to start negotiations on salary increases and other money items that have been in effect “on hold” since the economic downturn.  Although the Guild and the District sometimes interpret the new budget numbers differently, the Guild is optimistic that an agreement can be reached. 

While attacks on education and educators continue on the state and federal levels, unions continue our mission to promote the voice of faculty and drive education policies that support student success rather than corporate profit.  The California Federation of Teachers (CFT) is working alongside a statewide coalition of community, faith, and labor organizations on the Make It Fair California (www.makeitfairca.com) campaign intended to close corporate loopholes and fund education in California with ongoing funds at levels that allow us to provide our students with the college experience they deserve.

Among other initiatives, CFT is also working alongside Fight for California’s Future on Tax Fairness with the goal of enacting a progressive tax system, like Proposition 30 in 2012, to help with funding education, as well as addressing the problem of the growing economic inequality between the one percent holding all the wealth and the other 99% of us.

The Guild will continue its work on improving faculty salaries, benefits, and working conditions, so we can focus on our classroom and our students.  We encourage members to become involved in the Guild, in all avenues of shared governance, and to both sponsor and attend campus events.  Opportunities for Guild involvement will be made available throughout the year.  

We will also continue our relationship with our classified brothers and sisters in CSEA on areas of common interest – such as increasing enrollment and retention - and promote productive relationships with our administrators, who share these interests as well.   While we each have our own roles on this campus, our experiences and contributions are also shaped by those around us.  When this is recognized, a strong sense of community emerges, threaded by the common interest shared by all – commitment to educational excellence and student success.



In Unity,


Zohara G. Kaye
President
Glendale College Guild, AFT Local 2276

Visit us on the web:

www.glendale.edu/guild
http://gccguild.org

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