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H-Adjunct

COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021
Discussion published by Joe Berry on Saturday, May 15, 2021

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER:
Public schools are at the center of the manufactured breakdown of the fabric of everyday life. They
are under attack not because they are failing, but because they are public. Henry Giroux
----------------------------------------------------------------
COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a 20-plus year old network of contingent
activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri-national - USA, CAN (including
QBC), and MEX) every other year, usually in August. 2018 was in San Jose, CA. and 2022 (waiting
another year!) will be in Queretaro, Mexico It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an
International Advisory Committee, a website, www.cocalinternational.org and Facebook page
, as well as this news aggregator, COCAL
UPDATES. See below at bottom for details on joining the listserv and other resources.
-----------------------------------------
UPDATE on COCAL XIV:

Due to the CORONA Virus, the COCAL XIV conference to be held in Querétaro, Mexico, has been
postponed until Summer 2022. However, there will be a small blended conference in 2021 in Mexico
City, with zoom access around the world. Watch this space for details.
————————

The COCAL International Advisory Committee needs a volunteer to take over the webmaster duties
for our website Our longtime webmaster, David Rives of Oregon, needs to
step back. It is not a high- maintenance job, but has a lot of potential for future development to serve
the contingent faculty movement. If interested or for more information reply to this email at

———————————————
SPECIAL REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE

Hi Joe!

So glad we got to speak earlier today--your time and knowledge of labor organizing in US higher ed is
really amazing. I thought you may be interested in this union data we've compiled on our website,
but per our discussion,
here's a rap (edit as you like!) for outreach, and here are the orgs/people you noted we should speak
with.

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

H-Adjunct

Dear [colleague]

I would like to connect you with our colleague Trent McDonald, co-chair of the Washington University
Undergraduate & Graduate Workers Union (WUGWU) . WUGWU and other
allied unions all across the US are putting together a campaign, under the name the Coalition of
Campus Unions, to ensure that no federal dollars go to union busting, non-living wage paying
educational institutions. With the Democratic executive and legislative branches saying that working
people deserve a seat at the table, we believe that linking labor standards to taxpayer dollars is a
necessary and achievable policy that must be enacted ASAP. Here are our campaign's:

Flier, https://www.canva.com/design/DAEUh-KW53g/gXAIUEI0ZNvwU4HNqolGyw/edit
Endorsement form, https://airtable.com/shrnQDgZU0PFAeNYi
&
3                      page                    extended                  description.
 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w01YNR1xTxnCCr-WNfev3p6Z1HphBUsfwuLQyw_QyXw/edit

Could Trent have a 15-30 minute phone or video call about our campaign with you sometime soon? Or
if folks from your organization are happy to just endorse and have little capacity, that's fine, too. We
are looking to put a lot of union muscle behind this effort (including your union!); we want everyone
to work together and win together here.

In solidarity,
Joe BERRY
--------------------------
CCSF NEWS

1.STOP The CUTS & RESTORE SF City College! Rally & March To Defend SF Community College
https://youtu.be/TrT-J0tzNdE
Students, faculty and supporters of San Francisco Community College and public
education rallied on 4/11/21 in San Francisco starting at 24th St and Mission St.
They discussed how entire programs including music and ESL are being eliminated
by the administration, community college board of trustees and the State Community
College chancellor Oakley.
They also reported that the ethnic studies program programs like Filipino studies are

being eliminated as well as other programs.
Also they discussed the role of privatization of public education which is aimed at forcing

students to take out massive loans and go to private for profit colleges. They marched
through the Mission to sites important to public education.
The action was sponsored by
#CCSFStudentCoalition, with students from @afam.ccsf,
Defund SFPD Now #DSPSstudents, CCSF Working Adult Degree Program, PUSO CCSF,
WeAre Phst, Anakbayan San Francisco
CCSF Collective and endorsed by HEAT

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

                                                               2

H-Adjunct

Additional media:
CFT 2019 Vote of no confidence in the community college chancellor

https://www.cft.org/resolution/vote-no-confidence-community-college-chancellor
SF City Hall Speakout To Demand $2.7 M To Restore 300 Classes At SF Community College
https://youtu.be/a4gQHE7sbDw
Stop The Closure of CCSF Ft. Mason & Other Campuses & Classes At SF Community College
https://youtu.be/KUlfNdGgUVY
Stop The Cuts! Hundreds of CCSF Students & Faculty Protest 300 Class Cuts AT BOT Meet-SF & CA
Demos Lead The Attack On Public Education
https://youtu.be/7ohpgRD_cOg
Public Education, Privatization, Corruption And The Destruction Of Our Schools
https://youtu.be/S_eu5u70tTE
CCSF HEAT-CCSF Collective Report Card & Privatization Of Community Colleges
https://youtu.be/PLxMQibw8bU
ALEC, Lumina & The Downsizing & Corporatization of City College of San Francisco
https://youtu.be/-GvPorcnRIs
Rocha Has To Go! AFT 2121 Members Protest Cutbacks & Union Busting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADzAOOx3zZM
Protest To Stop The Destruction of CCSF Through Elimination of ESL, Shuttering of Campuses,
Privatization & Union Busting
https://youtu.be/GzGEZRrOWqY
CCSF Board Of Trustees At Meeting All Support Chancellor Rocha Cuts & Union Busting
https://youtu.be/2uwdqug6Ii4
Build The PAEC NOW! Stop The Privatization & Developers Rip-off Scam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkGMe_w6JaU
Conflicts of Interest, CCSF & The Attack On Public Education Privatization With Kathy Carroll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux4mRloWBEA&t=3s
HEAT CCSF Collective Report Card Flunks CCSF Board Of Trustees
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/heat-ccsf-collective-press-con

Production of Labor Video Project

www.labormedia.net

2. On Apr 11, 2021, at 9:32 PM, Leslie Simon  wrote:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sM90aPq74vlZRfp6q55f27oXqXGOo2EsnLjSmhiogzM/edit

        Dear colleagues and comrades,

        Today was a good day for City College activism. Led by a smart and capable group of
        student activists, the day's activities began with a webinar in the morning and ended
        with a spirited afternoon march that moved from the 24th Street BART plaza to the

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

                                                               3

H-Adjunct

Mission Campus and The Women's Building, concluding at Mission High. Some of you
were there, and some of you spoke.

Meanwhile, the struggle, as they say, continues.

Recently, I sent to a couple dozen of you a two-page attempt to make the City College
struggle more easily understood by people not familiar with the complex issues. A good
dozen of you sent me thoughtful and useful feedback. I tried to incorporate much of it in
the version attached as a pdf and available here as a living Google doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sM90aPq74vlZRfp6q55f27oXqXGOo2EsnLjSmhiogzM/edit

It is far from perfect. If you find it useful, please share it in any way you like. If it doesn't
work for you, no worries. If you would like to see a one-page version, let me know.

Thanks for your work and your care for our beloved college. The next month is full of
events and actions. You can read about them on the Rebuild City College Campaign
website and the AFT 2121 website.

Gratefully yours,
Leslie

Leslie Simon
Cell: 415-377-5330
The Divine Comic
lesliesimonwriter.com

3. CCSF students lead protest of cuts
https://48hills.org/2021/04/city-college-students-fight-back-against-brutal-faculty-cuts/?utm_source=n
ewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=CCSF&utm_campaign=City%20College%20students%
20fight%20back%20

4. Protests against cuts
https://missionlocal.org/2021/04/453115/

5. And the SF Chronicle weighs in
https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/State-s-fiscal-crisis-team-sounds-alarm-on-the-1610204
5.php

and a later version with union comments
https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/State-s-fiscal-crisis-team-sounds-alarm-on-the-1610204
5.php

H-Adjunct

6. Extreme cuts in ESL will hurt
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/city-college-classes-for-english-learners-jeopardized-by-cutbacks/

7. A very good article in a neighborhood SF paper
https://sfrichmondreview.com/2021/04/15/commentary-saving-city-college/

8. More CCSF coverage

KPIX5-
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/04/16/city-college-cuts-layoffs-supe-gordon-mark-calls-for-eme
rgency-funding/

Examiner-
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/city-college-classes-for-english-learners-jeopardized-by-cutbacks/

Mission Local- https://missionlocal.org/2021/04/453115/

The Ingleside Light (I can't open since I don't
subscribe) https://www.inglesidelight.com/proposed-layoffs-spur-rally-to-protect-city-colleges-progra
ms-for-vulnerable-students/

Came out BEFORE the press conference, but is a great piece in Richmond Review (I think Jean Barish
helped set it up?)-
https://sfrichmondreview.com/2021/04/15/commentary-saving-city-college/

9. And cartoon from CCSF student paper
http://theguardsman.com/6_opinion_timber_blackwell/

10. https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883048/financial-crisis-at-city-college-san-francisco-clouds-f
uture-for-students-and-faculty

11. and from Faculty Assoc. for CA CCs
https://www.faccc.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2021&month=04&
day=21&id=14:city-college-of-san-francisco-the-egalitarian-college-

12. Faculty and students continue protests
https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/S-F-City-College-students-faculty-protest-16121872.ph
p?fbclid=IwAR0i2PEVZgCFNBgiRGTJpNVoOOVpU9WChHUw7ZwgDhZNJpBfR0A2gUpJQMw
—————————
INTERNATIONAL
None this time

————————————

H-Adjunct

UPDATES IN BRIEF AND LINKS

1. A new attack on progressive or radical professors
https://theintercept.com/2021/04/10/campus-reform-koch-young-americans-for-freedom-leadership-in
stitute/?

2. Community colleges: Rethink tenure

By Walter Marquardt

The Seattle Times, April 9, 2021

Re: “Democrats and unions ignore the plight of nontenured faculty” [April 1, Opinion]:

I shared Jack Longmate’s experience for 19 years teaching English as a Second Language in the
community-college system. The huge irony of the system is that tenured people insist on limiting part-
time instructors’ hours, making it even more difficult to earn a living wage. That forces nontenured
people to work at two or more colleges, resulting in long days and miserable conditions. It’s an idiotic
system at best, and the unions refuse to do anything about it, being entirely beholden to the tenured
minority.

For complete letter to the editor, please see:

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/community-colleges-rethink-tenure/

3. New AAUP faculty compensation survey show real wages down (FT faculty only in survey)
https://academeblog.org/2021/04/12/faculty-compensation-survey-shows-decreases-in-real-wages/

4. Chicago teachers threaten to go back to remote if no deal reached
https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/11/22379120/chicago-teachers-union-sets-date-for-possible-walk
out-as-negotiations-continue

5. Inequality.org for this week.
https://inequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/inequality-newsletter-april-12-2021.html?emci=df6
ee840-ae9b-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=84055334-bf9b-
eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4045519

6. Film festival of interest on econ and social justice, out of SF, CA
https://www.csej.org/2021-festival

7. E Baton Rouge (LA) teachers sick out over COVID safety
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_bccbdcea-9bb3-11eb-b397-cb34cb
07ca2e.html

8. Cuts at Pacific Lutheran (WA) after defeating the union drive there

H-Adjunct

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/04/13/pacific-lutheran-cut-36-faculty-members-seve
ral-majors?

9. Hi Joe,

I don't know if this is the kind of article you'd like to list in COCAL ,but I am very interested in the
intellectual effects of gig professordom. The lost generation of scholarship-that-never came-to-be
because of the adjunctification of academe is a big deal!

Along those lines, I just saw this profile of a life-long contingent academic who never could get a TT
job and who barely was able to continue with research over the decades. She was several times at
high risk of just being booted from the lab altogether and now is single-handedly behind the mRNA
that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are based on. I feel as though hers is a story that we should
trumpet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/health/coronavirus-mrna-kariko.html

Eva

10. Labor Notes weekly higher ed call
Hi all:

Our next meeting will be this Friday April 16 at 3 PM EDT.

Here is the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87638386174

We will want to hear from those who participated in the Debt Reveal Day and consider how that work
can be carried on.

Notes from last meeting:

1) We discussed the loss in the organizing drive at Bessemer and lessons we have learned,
experiences we have had with losses. How do we remain sober about mistakes and lessons learned,
about the powerful forces we are up against, and continue to move toward organizing and meaningful
hope?

2) Debt Reveal Day is tomorrow- April 15. Forty-five universities are having some kind of action.
There will be a reflection/discussion in the evening to see what was learned.

As an example of how the Debt Reveal work has grown, Connecticut State University faculty union
has organized a week of virtual teach-ins about debt with a goal of moving toward a People's Budget.

3) Don't forget to register for "La Gente Antes que la Deuda": Reflections from Puerto Rico's 2017
Student Strike" a conversation with students in Puerto Rico who participated in the 2017 strike. Lots
to learn from their work. April 30.

H-Adjunct

4) We heard from RAFA (CUNY-PSC) about their sick-out assembly, Salem State about the ongoing
attacks from management and harassment of organizers by union leadership, and the on-gong
contract campaign for LEO UofM.

Kick ass tomorrow- and see you Friday.

in soldarity
Barbara
Barbara Madeloni
education coordinator
413- 695 6658

11. From our colleague Fred Glass at CCSF, History of Mayday film

Begin forwarded message:

From: Fred Glass
Subject: Re: Two things
Date: April 14, 2021 at 12:52:29 PM PDT
To: Joe Berry

Watch a sneak preview screening of a video in progress: We mean to make things over:
A labor history of May Day Thursday, April 29 at 7 pm.
Filmmaker Fred Glass will present the video, followed by a discussion of the PRO Act
with reps from DSA and the Alameda Labor Council. The video explores the suppressed
back story of May Day—International Workers Day—from its origins in the struggle for
the eight hour day in the nineteenth century up through the birth of socialism, general
strikes, legislative battles and the holiday’s relevance to the present day. RSVP here.
https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1873/2021-04-29-may-day-history-video-and-the-pro-
act/

and
Join East Bay DSA and its Labor Committee on Thursday, April 29th at 7:00pm at a virtual screening
of a half-hour video-in-progress, We Mean to Make Things Over: A History of May Day, with
filmmaker Fred Glass, to find out about the long-suppressed labor and socialist history behind May
Day -- a holiday celebrating the working class all over the world but not in the United States, the
country in which the events that led to the holiday occurred. Fred will say a few words on the
background of the video, which includes the talents of artist Jos Sances, animator Paul Zappia, and
documentary filmmaker Rick Tejada-Flores, and there will be time for a brief Q&A afterward. The
screening and discussion will be followed by a short presentation on what DSA is doing to help pass
the most important pro-union legislation in decades, the PRO Act.

12. Updates from Bargaining for the Common Good
https://mailchi.mp/c04d03a9beaf/final-reminder-register-for-the-racial-justice-webinar-2662141?e=ac
0f0c5bb9

H-Adjunct

13. Our colleague (and my spouse and partner) Helena Worthen in an interview with Andy Blunden
of marxists.org on Labor education and CHAT (cultural-historical activity theory) and other things
https://www.facebook.com/helena.worthen/posts/10160892973086982

14. Santa Clara U (CA) adjuncts fighting for union recognition (SEIU)
https://twitter.com/scufacultyunite/status/1380716775529095168

15. Rider U (NY) faculty rejoect offer and talk strike)
https://www.theridernews.com/union-rejects-university-contract-extension-teases-summer-talks/

16. Sacramento, CA schools workers threaten strike over COVID safety
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article250634924.html#:~:text=A%20union%20repres
enting%20hundreds%20of,potential%20vote%20on%20a%20strike

17. Chicago teachers make a deal to go back to class
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-cps-covid-19-high-school-reopening-ctu-20210415-rra
3ybed4rfdbnw3auwqg774gm-story.html

and from CTU
https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/ctu-rank-and-file-ratify-hs-agreement-first-in-nation-to-negotiate-vacc
ines-for-students-families/

18. Grad union at U of IL/Champaign-Urbana fights for reinstatement of member fired for missing
COVID test
https://www.news-gazette.com/news/grad-student-union-again-petitioning-for-reinstatement-of-studen
t-dismissed-for-not-getting-tested/article_352ce9fa-fcbe-5a16-b359-dc130046a47c.html

19. Neoliberalism and a wealth tax
https://workingclassstudies.wordpress.com/2021/04/19/is-neoliberalism-dead-class-struggle-and-a-we
alth-tax/

20. U of RI part-timers move from AAUP to AFSCME after vote
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/education/2021/04/15/uris-part-time-faculty-join-new-
union-local-91/7236102002/

21 Colleges are using COVID as an excuse for austerity, unions push back
https://truthout.org/articles/colleges-are-using-covid-as-an-excuse-for-austerity-unions-are-pushing-ba
ck/?

22. Inequality.org for this week
https://inequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/inequality-newsletter-april-19-2021.html?emci=8a
a847fb-2ea1-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=a7be930e-39a1-
eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4045519

23. U of Pitt (PA) faculty union drive gets a win at state labor board

H-Adjunct

https://pittnews.com/article/165205/top-stories/plrb-rules-on-size-of-potential-pitt-faculty-union/

24. Hi Joe,
We published another booklet. https://coloradoaaup.org/uncategorized/adjuncts-guide/
The Adjunct's Guide to Working in the Colorado Community College System is a straightforward list
of 24 answers for which few ever receive a straight answer, alas.
It will help activists to have, at their fingertips the numbers and the links for verifying those numbers
and/or finding new ones as we move forward.
I would like to teach groups how to form a committee that could research similar questions and
publish their own Guides for their colleges.
It was a mountain of work, but work like this could readily and easily be spread across a group of five
or six people who could pull together a similar publication in a month or so.
Millions are flowing into higher education now, but where it will be spent, by whom, for whom, and
when, are the questions adjuncts, especially, need to have and to ask.
This book is hyper-focused on the Colo. Comm. College System, of course. However, the easy design
of it could be copied by activists elsewhere.

https://coloradoaaup.org/uncategorized/adjuncts-guide/
--
Caprice Lawless
Co-President, Colorado Conference
American Association of University Professors
Chair, AAUP national Contingency in the Profession Committee
Member, AAUP national Community College Committee
Advisory Board Member, Academe
AAUP
coloradocaprice@gmail.com
AAUP Chapters of the Colorado Community College System

25. Here is a lesson from Bessemer for us in the contingent faculty movement
https://mltoday.com/bessemer-no-organizing-effort-is-ever-wasted/?

26. A new topic has been posted on the LRAN Listserv by Bill Herbert.

Topic Title: Register for Free May 17-20 Higher Education Conference at Hunter College Click to see
(you must be logged
in): https://lranetwork.org/forums/topic/register-for-free-may-17-20-higher-education-conference-at-h
unter-college/

Topic:

The 48th annual conference of Hunter College’s National Center for the Study of Collective
Bargaining in Higher Education will be taking place virtually on May 17-20. The conference is free
with four days of panels discussing Higher Education, Collective Bargaining and the Biden
Administration. Register now

H-Adjunct

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Register-Now-for-May-17-20-Higher-Education-Conference-at-H
unter-College.html?soid=1102372137664&aid=J9sOENPdLeU

To post to the LRAN listserv, login to www.lranetwork.org, click “Listserv” then click on an
appropriate topic. If you are not a member, click “Join Now” to access the listserv.

27. Faculty at Chicago Latin School file for union election (AFT)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2021/4/14/22384675/latin-school-chicago-educators-union-am
erican-federation-illinois-teachers-gold-coast

28. How students have been advocating for laid off campus workers
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/campus-workers-organizing

29. Classified workers in Sacramento Unified set strike date and teachers pledge sympathy strike
https://www.sacbee.com/article250683384.html

30 Labor Notes higher ed call

Hi all:

Good to see you last week.
Our next meeting is this Friday April 23 at 3 PM EDT.
Here is the link: (full link below) Passcode:062006

1) Message from Karla:

We're just a couple of days until our event on April 30th "La Gente Antes que la Deuda: Reflections
Reflections from Puerto Rico's 2017 Student Strike" at 5:00pm CDT, 6pm EST. Please register here
and you can look the Facebook event here. For those of you that would like to make a donation for
the legal defense of my comrades, you can make your donation via Venmo @gabriel-diaz-139 or via
PayPal paypal.me/vhuertas12 Attached you will also find the even flier.

We would also very much appreciate you to share the event with your colleagues, friends and even
students. To do so, we have created this this document that includes:
• general blurb of the event that can be used to share on your social media platform and Union
website or newsletter,
• an email template to invite your colleagues or friends, and
• a second email template for professors and TAs to invite their students with a table highlighting
connections that professors can make between their class and the objectives of the talk.
Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you all on the 30th. I know it will serve as inspiration
for all of us in these times. If you have any questions, you can email me here or reach me via phone at
787-203-5958.

2) We discussed the question of how we tell our stories of contract campaigns and other organizing.

H-Adjunct

In particular, we looked at this question from two angels. One- the contract campaign that leadership
insists on calling a fantastic victory when it is in fact more complicated than that- and maybe not that
good at all. we discussed the role of transparency and of having your own communication resources
to provide another perspective.

The other angle was how do we allow ourselves to raise up the good work we have done. This last
came up in the context of the Debt Reveal Day actions and the need to really celebrate that work. For
example, we heard about great actions at CUNY- UIC- a well used tool for education- and ongoing
teach-ins at CSU.

We have to celebrate- continue to build power- and be wary of the pressures to over promote
solutions - like legislation - that are not sufficient. Holding to a recognition and demand for all we
want - as we build power.

2) We began the discussion of how to support the ongoing work of the Debt Collective and will put
aside a dedicated meeting to review and make some decisions. But some ideas: this was work about
education on the local level- how do we deepen it as organizing? what did we learn that will help us
take the nest steps? how do we move from education to agitation?

I will not be there Friday, but Gerry Martini is going to get the zoom set up.

in solidarity
Barbara

Barbara Madeloni
education coordinator
413- 695 6658

31. St Xavier faculty call for president’s removal. partly over union busting
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/04/21/saint-xavier-faculty-calls-presidents-removal?

32 Striking Columbia U (NY) grads get TA
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/04/21/striking-columbia-tas-reach-tentative-contrac
t-agreement?

33. Appeal for assistance
Hi Joe,
Could you circulate this request on your next COCAL listserve newsletter? Thanks, Marc Kagan
The Committee of Adjuncts and Part-timers of the Professional Staff Congress – City University of
New York is trying to develop legislation addressing pay parity and applying traditional “just cause”
protections against firing to what is oh-so-politely called “non-re-appointment.” We also wonder if any
state or locality has statute language mandating civil service-type seniority protections for contingent
faculty on what are effectively layoffs and re-hiring. If you can provide any information on any of
these issues, please contact marckagan@aol.com

H-Adjunct

34. United Campus Workers, CWA, organizing for power webinars with Jane McAlevey
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsPDPdLiPDN7vFk6dX3WQzW5caVwlUYrWGBUKQfvnJZ
nvb3A/viewform?

35. Union statements on Chauvin convictions
AAUP — https://academeblog.org/2021/04/21/convicted-on-all-counts/

Communications Workers of America:

"Today's verdict finding Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd is a step toward justice
for Floyd, his family members, and all those who have been affected by his brutal murder. But it is
not enough. As we have seen in the past few weeks, the threat of police violence continues to be a
constant presence in the lives of Black and Brown people in our country. We've heard all the pretexts
and excuses and promises to do better, but the fact remains that there has been no reduction in the
racial disparity in fatal police shootings over the past five years."

Roxana Rivera, 32BJ: (SEIU)

"As a union representing mostly Black and Brown workers, our members cannot escape a dangerous
reality that they too could become a victim of police brutality, even as they risk their own lives
keeping us safe on the frontlines as essential workers who clean and secure buildings. Many must
travel to and from work during off-hours and fear being harassed and brutalized by the police... We
must ensure this ruling signals an end to the cycle of violence against our Black and Brown
communities, and the beginning of long overdue reform of our broken policing and criminal justice
systems."

Lee Saunders, AFSCME:

"We cannot let today's verdict allow us to become complacent about the challenges we face. We have
to do better. Black people in America are exhausted with fear and anxiety every single day. Today's
verdict is appropriate punishment for a single crime. But to honor the memory of George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor, Adam Toledo, and so many others whose only 'crime' was being Black, we must work
with greater effort and urgency than ever to bend the arc toward racial justice."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.):

"The jury's verdict delivers accountability for Derek Chauvin, but not justice for George Floyd. Real
justice for him and too many others can only happen when we build a nation that fundamentally
respects the human dignity of every person. The trauma and tragedy of George Floyd's murder must
never leave us. It was a manifestation of a system that callously devalues the lives of Black people.
Our struggle now is about justice—not justice on paper, but real justice in which all Americans live
their lives free of oppression. We must boldly root out the cancer of systemic racism and police
violence against people of color."

36. Very moving exchange about the recent suicide death of one of our contingent colleagues.

H-Adjunct

On Apr 20, 2021, at 9:36 PM, Linda Sneed  wrote:

I'll also forward you the death announcement some of us in LRCFT sent to all faculty.

This was my buddy, my primary co-part-timer-co-conspirator.

From: Sneed, Linda 
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 8:24 PM
To: Sneed, Linda 
Subject: PT/Adj Fac: Pain, Fear, and Suffering.

To all my part-time faculty colleagues throughout Los Rios, using all available lists in Outlook:

If what I wrote below to the Chancellor and the four Los Rios college presidents resonates with you at
all, please drop me a line.

We need to strategize about how to make real change. Business as usual isn't working.

Linda Sneed
Part-time Faculty Advocate

Dear Chancellor King and Presidents Bush, Dixon, Gutierrez, and Yamamura --

On this historic day during which we breathe a sigh of relief at the conviction of Derek Chauvin and
continue in our deepest commitments to social justice and socio-economic transformation, I would
like to bring the following to your attention:

Los Rios part-time faculty member Paul Baltimore's suicide almost two weeks ago was also "a painful
reminder of the deep-rooted pain, fear, and suffering that so many in our country, and right here in
our communities, struggle with every single day."

ARC was the only Los Rios college at which Paul hadn't shared his brilliance, his passion, and his love
of students in his History courses. Paul's dedication to teaching TRUE history -- that which students
rarely if ever are exposed to during their compulsory educations -- and inviting students to make
sense of and determine how best to act in the present by studying the past made him an
extraordinary educator and social justice warrior.

There are other Paul Baltimores among our part-time faculty and indeed among the job-insecure
contingent faculty throughout the country who have reached -- and may as I write this be reaching --
the point of desperation and despair that Paul reached. Los Rios part-time faculty who have gathered
to grieve since Paul's death have expressed such "pain, fear, and suffering."

I urge you to think of them, the majority of the Los Rios faculty, when you think about the work
faculty do with students every day in Los Rios: the work of love, respect, and belief in ALL students'
worth and dignity.

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

                                                              14

H-Adjunct

Plenty of part-time faculty throughout the District feel underappreciated and, frankly, wounded by
the cavalier ways in which the rest of the institution treat us (all, ironically or otherwise, except
students, who see our value and don't treat us as second-class citizens).

The letter signed by all five of you in Spring 2020 in which a pledge was made to do everything
possible to protect all permanent employees -- with no mention of the rest of us -- was telling.

We understand -- all but the most naive among us -- that we are dispensable, replaceable, and usually
overlooked employees to whom lip service is periodically paid. We help keep the institution going by
showing up when we're needed and disappearing when we're not. We're not even granted the respect
that a more transparent scheduling system would afford, in spite of repeated efforts to achieve such
an improvement. LRCCD-LRCFT Negotiations this past round convinced me that part-time faculty are
very low on the District's priority list; we are NOT particularly valued employees from upper
management's perspective.

I thank you all for honoring the wishes of the LRCFT and not issuing pablum-laden statements after
Paul's death that he would have known better than to believe.

Instead, I urge you to ask yourselves what you can do to support part-time faculty in ways that truly
matter, just as the LRCFT and other groups have urged you to look for ways to support students and
the interests of equity and social justice in ways that truly matter.

Sincerely,
Linda Sneed
Part-time English Instructor at CRC

From: King, Brian 
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 3:17 PM
To: Sneed, Linda 
Subject: 4/20/21 - Statement on Derek Chauvin Verdict

April 20, 2021
Los Rios Community,

Guilty. Twelve jurors in Minnesota have found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty
of all murder and manslaughter charges.

Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd almost a year ago was a painful reminder of the deep-rooted pain,
fear, and suffering that so many in our country, and right here in our communities, struggle with
every single day. While this trial might be over, and the outcome mercifully just, the conditions that
led us here haven’t changed nearly enough. Just miles from the courthouse where Derek Chauvin was
standing before jurors, Daunte Wright, an unarmed 20-year-old African American man, was shot and
killed by police last week. Only days earlier, Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Latino boy in Chicago was
shot and killed by police while his hands were up and empty.

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

                                                              15

H-Adjunct

And yet, in spite of all the work we still have to do as a country and as a people, there is some small
space for hope and optimism today. The arc of history that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently
spoke about bent a little more towards justice today.

Make no mistake that our work is far from over. Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts to
create an educational system guided by principles of equity and inclusion, and to remain laser-
focused on outcomes for African American, Latino/a, and other historically underserved students. In
doing that work, we have an opportunity to truly honor the legacies of George Floyd, Daunte Wright,
Adam Toledo, Breonna Taylor, Stephon Clark, and far, far too many others.

Thank you for everything you do, every day, towards this mission. College and district leaders will be
sharing information about opportunities in Los Rios for dialogue and healing in the coming days.

Sincerely,

Brian King
Chancellor, Los Rios Community College District

Melanie Dixon
President, American River College

Ed Bush
President, Cosumnes River College

Whitney Yamamura
President, Folsom Lake College

Michael Gutierrez
President, Sacramento City College

37. Job announcement, U of SF FA (AFT) Exec. Dir.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HLQxLLowrBuSgxl6G5Dp3wKKR88IhF7c/view

38. VA Commonwealth U adjuncts march
https://richmondmagazine.com/nice-shot-demanding-equity/

39. From the labor news aggregator Who Gets the Bird
NLRB wins…: 170 educators at Second City in Chicago, as part of the broader Association of
International Comedy Educators in LA, Chicago, and Toronto, voted a whopping 104-6 to join the
Illinois Federation of Teachers;

31 educators at Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School in Wilmerding, PA voted 14-7 to form an
NEA local. 31

48 special education pre-K workers at Easterseals Project Excel in Monticello, NY, are organizing

H-Adjunct

with CSEA, AFSCME Local 1000.

University of New Mexico grad student workers are continuing their push for recognition with the
UE.

In the East Bay, charter school workers at Caliber are organizing a union through the IWW. In San
Diego, the largest charter chain in the County, High Tech High, are forming a union of around 400
educators with the California Teachers Association.

Grad student workers at Columbia with UAW reached a tentative agreement, though not everyone’s
happy about it. Even the NYU UAW grad worker local 100 blocks downtown felt compelled to
encourage a longer period of debate. So you can be sure that when NYU grad students strike if they
hit their April 26 strike deadline without an agreement (which rumors say is the way things are
going), they’ll have a plenty long debate period on any ratification. 400 grad student workers with
SEIU Local 73 at Illinois State University authorized a strike, but haven’t yet given the legally-
required 10-day notice to actually walk.

SEIU 1021 set a date for a 2-day strike of 1900 K-12 support workers in the Sacramento Public
Schools around unsafe reopening, but reached a dealincluding expanded leave provisions, more PPE,
and stipends, and called off the strike. Elsewhere in California, the Oxnard union filed an unfair labor
practice, and plenty other districts are still wrangling over details of in-person schooling.

The Jefferson Federation of Teachers, in Jefferson Parish, LA, say the school board their is trying to
circumvent the collective bargaining process by changing work rules and conditions by board vote.

40. April 28-May 1 virtual conference on new social compact for the working class, including a
session on higher education and bargaining for the common good. Unfortunately no contingent in
evidence on it. People should join in and raise our issues. Session is
April 29 at 11 AM ET.

https://lwp.georgetown.edu/virtual-gathering-constructing-a-new-social-compact-a-public-forum-on-e
mpowering-the-post-pandemic-working-class/#

41. New movement for just cause employment, webinar
http://go.pardot.com/webmail/547622/651892633/249587c0dc793ef09d341c7d9e99a3f95076931a1ef
34379c24e869d514c49c0

------------------------------------------------
co-author with Helena Worthen, of Power Despite Precarity: strategies for the contingent faculty
movement in higher education (forthcoming Pluto August 2021)
powerdespiteprecarity.org
———————
RESOURCES

"Reclaiming the Ivory Tower: Organizing Adjuncts to Change Higher Education". by Joe Berry, from

H-Adjunct

Monthly Review Press, 2005. Look at for full information,
individual sales, bulk ordering discounts, or to invite me to speak at an event or
email joeberry@igc.org.

To regularly receive this periodic news aggregator, COCAL Updates, Email

To join international COCAL listserve email If this
presents problems, send an e-mail to vtirelli@aol.com or, send "Subscribe" to

Join the national membership organization for contingent faculty and their allies, New Faculty
Majority (NFM). Support, resources,and strategies for all things related to precarious faculty.

To access the Center for the Study of Academic Labor (CSAL) and its journal “Academic Labor:
Research and Artistry” go to https://csal.colostate.edu

To access "Workplace: a Journal of Academic Labor" go
to https://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/workplace/index

Also COCAL XIV in August, 2022 in Queretaro, Mexico. WWW.COCALINTERNATIONAL.ORG
______________________
Joe Berry
510-527-5889 phone/fax landline
21 San Mateo Road,
Berkeley, CA 94707
cell-510-999-0751
joeberry@igc.org or
joetracyberry@gmail.com
In Vermont-802-380-0193
Skype: joeberry1948

co-author with Helena Worthen, of Power Despite Precarity (forthcoming Pluto August 2021) see the
blog at
powerdespiteprecarity.org

______________________
co-author with Helena Worthen, of Power Despite Precarity: strategies for the contingent faculty
movement in higher education (forthcoming Pluto August 2021)
powerdespiteprecarity.org
———————
Joe Berry
21 San Mateo Road,
Berkeley, CA 94707
cell-510-999-0751

H-Adjunct

joeberry@igc.org or
joetracyberry@gmail.com
In Vermont-802-380-0193
Skype: joeberry1948

Citation: Joe Berry. COCAL UPDATES - APRIL 27, 2021. H-Adjunct. 05-15-2021.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/3447/discussions/7633018/cocal-updates-april-27-2021
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

                                                              19

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