CHAPARRAL

Kathy Holland,
2nd Vice President,
GCC Guild

Surviving the Life of Part-time Employment

            Welcome back to the new school year—and what a year it’s been!  Between the state budget crisis and the gubernatorial recall, it’s hard to imagine a normal, sane life as a college instructor.  However, if you are reading this article, that means you have survived the worst!

            Overall, it is still a mixed bag for adjuncts.  The bad news is that some 5,000 adjunct instructors (state-wide) lost assignments this year due to the budget cuts.  While some campuses around the state are planning even more cuts next spring, other campuses may restore some classes to their spring schedules.  Most campuses are in the midst of planning their spring semesters, and some may be looking for adjuncts.  Which ones? One of the best resources for job listings is the CCC Registry, a website that includes both full- and part-time job listings.  Their web address is: http://www.cccregistry.org/jobs/index.aspx.

            The state budget is also a mixed bag for adjuncts.  We still have state funding for health insurance, office hours, and equity money, but there are some changes.  Originally, the state reimbursed 50 percent of our health premiums.  Now it is down to about 15 percent.  This is especially tough for those of us who have no access to any other health plans.  However, funding for office hours is largely untouched for this year.  Equity money was originally funded at $57 million, but now it’s down to $50.8 million.

            This news is not bad at all—with fewer adjuncts working, there may be more money to go around.  The amount given to our campus is just over $700,000, and all of it will go to adjuncts.  However, funding for these items is up in the air for next year's budget.  We may lose them, unless we lobby the legislature. When the legislature returns to Sacramento in January, it will become imperative for us to constantly remind our legislators to keep these items fully funded. 

              Lastly, rehire rights will be implemented this year.  Although this may not be the best offer (as compared to full seniority in the L.A. district), it is still a step in the right direction.  Still, there is room for improvement.  The good news is that the negotiations team will be looking for re-openers next spring.  If you want improvements and if you have ideas on how to improve rehire rights, let me know so I can forward them to the negotiations team. 

Please send any comments or questions to Kathy Holland, at kholland@glendale.edu    v

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