Dear Peralta Community,
Second Tuesday of the month? Time for the PFT e-Communiqué, a quick review of issues, events, and ideas of interest to the union and the broader Peralta community. Welcome to Issue No. 2!
*The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees meets tonight, Tues., Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. in the District Boardroom, 333 E. Eighth St. The PFT urges faculty, staff, and students to turn out and share their concerns. The board and district need to know that the Peralta community cares deeply about the soundness and transparency of district decision-making and the future of the colleges.
*Berkeley City College faculty led a lunchtime speak out against budget cuts on Oct. 8, with some 150 students, staff, and faculty telling their stories about the ways the decimation of public education has affected them personally. The event helps spring BCC and Peralta toward the statewide educational-issues organizing meeting, set for Oct. 24 at UC Berkeley.
*Laney College will hold a PFT chapter meeting on Wed., Oct. 21, from 12-1 p.m., in Room T 450. Among the agenda items will be introducing a new Laney PFT rep, naming the college delegation to the Oct. 24 meeting at UCB, and —but of course!—lunch. Bring yourself and couple of fellow faculty members.
*At the Community College Council meeting of the California Federation of Teachers on Sep. 25 in Manhattan Beach, CCC president Carl Friedlander surveyed the damage inflicted by statewide budget cuts, discussed merger talks between the CFT and CTA, and sketched some of the issues raised for collective bargaining and academic freedom by the growing clout of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). A follow-up meeting on the merger negotiations—which the PFT will take part in—is set for Sat., Oct. 17, in Los Angeles.
*CoA nurse/PFT rep Patricia Dudley reminds folks that they can reduce their chances of catching the flu by getting the seasonal influenza vaccine. And with the H1N1 virus making the rounds, people might also consider getting the swine flu shot as soon as it’s available. Visit flu.gov for further information and updates.
In unity,
Debby Weintraub, President
Peralta Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1603
For more about the PFT—contract information, contacts, downloadable forms, updates, etc.—visit pft1603.org or write PFT1603info@gmail.com.