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Roots of Unity by Mike Allen, Guild President |
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Mike Allen,
President, |
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Many have heard the adage "age and guile will beat youth and talent every time" during their lives. Depending on how old you are when you come across this claim, it may lift or crush your spirit. But of course, there are many reasons not to put too much stock in this old chestnut. It is certainly not true that the wiles of the experienced always outweigh the fresh perspective and energy of initiates, and the adage doesn't say that the aged are universally untalented nor that the young are universally naive. Instead, it focuses on the situation when the two types are indeed squaring off in some sort of contest. But what if we can avoid such a contest? What if guile and talent, young and old, team up and decide to work together? In recent years, some members of our union have felt that the aged and guileful have led us to focus inordinately on the "longevity" portion (beyond step 13) of our salary schedules. In the last few years, we have in fact added longevity steps to some of the columns of our full-time faculty salary schedule, increased the percentage "bump" these steps provide, and have negotiated to add a new highest step to both the full and part-time schedules starting next year (barring some catastrophe in funding from Sacramento). This has allowed our members on the high end of the schedule to remain competitive with similar faculty in the area, but what we pay those on the low end has drifted well below median. At some points on the low end, we are now 12th out of the 13 local districts, besting only Compton (a district in receivership). Now some would argue that if we can only be competitive on the high end or the low end, it should be the high end, since this is what will determine the amount we will get from STRS in retirement. Moreover, these folks say that all will benefit from the high end eventually, as long as they keep working here. Others argue that members on the low end should be the ones paid competitively since they are often raising young families, trying to buy their first house, etc.. Also, high initial salaries can help us recruit the best applicants for positions here. Of course, it would be best if both ends could be paid competitively. The district has usually implied that since we get so few dollars per student compared to other districts, we can't do that. But the equalization funding we got this year is starting to eat away at their argument, and if it grows as expected, our funding will catch up to that of neighboring districts in just two more years. So, how can we use these future dollars to improve equity on campus? To do this, all brothers and sisters must think about our union as a whole. But we must also attempt to balance representation in Guild leadership among the various sorts of faculty. When it comes to elected officers, we are at the mercy of who decides to run, so if you think you are not being well represented, please consider running next spring. But, our negotiating team is appointed. While we have tried to make sure that each category of employee is represented there, we haven't always been able balance the team in other ways, such as with regards to age. It does take time for faculty to acquire the knowledge and experience required to be an effective member of the team, and newer faculty seem to show less interest in campus politics on average than those who have come before them. But certainly there are some younger faculty who desire to learn what is needed, and we would love to combine young talent and experienced guile, right? Thus, I want to ask you again to let me know if you would like to join the negotiating team this coming spring. So far, I have received nibbles from five people, but the more we have to choose from, the better the team we can put together. Also, if you aren't selected this time (perhaps due to concerns of balance), your interest in future openings on the team will be known. If you don't think negotiating team is for you right now, please also consider joining the campaign committee of Professors for Quality Education, our PAC. As most of you know, its focus is on electing good trustees for our college. With the Board of Trustees election scheduled for April, we will need to raise the campaign committee soon so that it can do most of its work during winter session. It is a good way to get involved and gain some experience, without making a long-term commitment. Lastly, I wanted to remind you this month that you can purchase all sorts of union-made gifts for the holidays at http://www.shopunionmade.org. Also, it is college application season, and you may be thinking about how in the world to pay for higher education. If so, be sure to check out http://www.aft.org/aftplus/scholarships/index.htm for the education services and scholarships available for students from your household thanks to our union's affiliation with the American Federation of Teachers and, through them, the AFL-CIO. Information on our local Guild scholarship and those available from the California Federation of Teachers will be coming soon.& |
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