Delta Teachers Insist: District Bargains in Bad Faith

SJDCwatch has obtained a copy of a recent letter from the SJDC Teachers Association sent to the President and Board of Trustees.

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To: President Rodriguez, Trustee Serna, Trustee Rivera, Trustee Bugarin, Trustee Burke, Trustee Simas, Trustee Parises, and Trusty McCreary

From: SJDCTA Organizing Committee

I’ve enclosed a flier that went out to SJDCTA members on Friday (8/29). I’m certain you’ll disagree with the opinions I’ve expressed. However, I’ve tried to make my factual claims as accurate as I can. You can check their accuracy at the Chancellor's DataMart.

You may also disagree with my tone, which I grant has some anger in it. However, I and many of my colleagues feel that the board and President Rodriguez, as a group, have bargained in bad faith; devalued teaching (one of the core activities of the college); repeatedly misrepresented the financial resources of the college; shown no interest in finding common ground with the faculty; and (at times) neglected the most basic interests of the college. Please be aware that glib pieties from President Rodriguez and Vice-President Brown only further inflame the situation.

I can’t see how the current stalemate serves the interests of our students, the faculty, top administrators, or the board of trustees. I also don’t know of anyone on campus who believes the public image of the college needs more battering. As a result, I continue to hope we can heal this rift. But the first step will have to be a commitment from you to bargain in good faith.

Sincerely,

Sam Hatch
for the Organizing Committee

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Dear Colleagues [e.g. SJDC Faculty],
I thought you might be interested to know that in the fall of 2006, Delta College full-time instructors had the 7th highest base salary in the California Community College system. If our college had more reasonable leadership, relatively high salaries for Delta faculty would make good economic sense because we’re one of the 5 or 6 most productive faculties in the entire system over the last five years. Yet in the fall of 2007--the most recent data available in the Chancellor’s DataMart—Delta had slipped to 14th. Take a look at the charts below that document these changes.
Of course, the fall in ranking only begins to tell the story. For the last two years, many of us have been paying thousands of dollars in health-care premiums. We are all paying more for food and gasoline. And strangely, we work for a board that begrudges us a raise that would cost a couple of million while it squanders tens of millions in bond money. I hope this absurdity is not lost on you.
At the end of fiscal year 2007, according to the bond-rating firm, Fitch Rating, the district had a reserve fund of $9.8 million—10.9% of its annual budget. We built that reserve with student-teacher ratios 15 to 20% above state averages (See Chart B).
For over a year, our union leadership has been negotiating with the people who ran the college into a ditch—mismanaging both our accreditation and the bond, bargaining unfairly year after year, and deciding which state laws, parts of our contract, and even their own board policies they will follow or flout.
It’s time to start asking yourself: What am I willing to do to get a fair contract, a responsible board, and a better college—one that can actually settle down to serving the interests of students, staff, and community? Will you attend Exec Board meetings? Will you join the union listserv so you can stay informed? Will you attend board meetings and express your dissatisfaction with the dismal performance of our board? Will you picket? Will you pass out leaflets in a board member’s neighborhood? Will you work for union-endorsed board candidates?
Your colleagues—and the college—need your help.

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