Dear Peralta Community,

Get ready for board night with the PFT e-Communiqué, the union view on news from around the PCCD. Suggest an item for the e-C by emailing PFT Communications Director Debby Weintraub at dweintraub@peralta.edu.

*The Peralta Board of Trustees meets tonight at 7 at 333 E. Eighth St. Among the notable items: a move to designate six administrative slots “academic administrator positions,” including five grant-funded jobs, none of which—the district acknowledges—would entail retreat rights; approval of a raft of revised  board policies, including updated chancellor-selection language; and a request for $235K in general funds for PeopleSoft improvements. Measures A and E, dedicated facilities bonds, will be tapped for the balance of tonight’s money requests.

*Don’t miss PFT’s first 2011-12 general membership meeting, Tues., Sep. 27, 3-5 p.m., at College of Alameda, Room D 312. Agenda items include updates on interest-based bargaining; the ongoing budget cuts; the chancellor-search process; and consideration of recent actions by the PFT Executive Council. Copies of the current contract will be available, as will light snacks and drinks.

*President Matthew Goldstein represented PFT at the Community College Council and State Council meetings of the California Federation of Teachers, the PFT’s state affiliate, Sep. 23-24 in LA. Leaders of locals from around the state discussed strategies for fixing California’s regressive tax policy, increasing support for public education, and correcting district-level managerial myopia. CFT voted to commit more financial resources to coordinated state- and federal-level activism in 2011-12, formally launching partnerships with progressive advocacy groups such as the Courage Campaign, California Calls, and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. The council meetings marked the first presided over by Josh Pechthalt, elected to the CFT’s top spot last spring.

*PFT urges faculty to vote for Sharon Hendricks in her bid to become the first community college representative on the CalSTRS board. Hendricks, from Local 1521 at LACC, is the only progressive in the race, and she’s been endorsed by PFT, CFT, and FACCC. With public pensions under attack, it’s crucial that CalSTRS members put a strong advocate into the new community college seat. CalSTRS members should look for ballots at their home addresses starting Oct. 1.

*PFT, in collaboration with other labor and community groups, is helping bring Rev. Edward Pinkney and his wife Dorothy to give a talk at Laney College, on Sat., Oct. 1. The Pinkneys are community activists from Benton Harbor, MI, a city that cashiered thousands of teachers and public employees when it was recently placed under “financial martial law.” The Pinkney event starts at 6 p.m. in Room E 255.

In solidarity,

Matthew M. Goldstein, President
Debby Weintraub, Communications Director
Peralta Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1603

For more about PFT—contract information, contacts, downloadable forms, updates, etc.—visit pft1603.org. Follow PFT on Twitter @PFT1603, and find us on Facebook.

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