SF has been losing students for its high schools as well for a few years now. However, it is not the only college experiencing this problem. We’re the shield of them.”įor CCSF, it has been losing students for years now. It’s an impact on our entire community,” she said. “We’re supposed to not get a raise this year, again,” said Patricia Castillo, a 13-year counselor at City College, who said the salary of her entry-level colleague with a master’s degree can start at $60,000. “The college, right now, is about 40 percent of the size that it was 10 years ago.” “We have award-winning educational programs, but they are being threatened by this kind of constant cutting of programs, cutting of staffing and this vision of a smaller college,” said Pugh. The cuts didn’t materialize after concessions from the union. In 2021, CCSF threatened to lay off nearly 200 full-time faculty members, which would have seriously affected the school’s English as a Second Language program, on which thousands of immigrants rely to gain citizenship or find better jobs. AFT 2121 and SEIU 1021 represent the vast majority of CCSF workers, and are among the five unions in which CCSF employees participate. “Why would you stonewall your two largest labor groups when you actually have the money?” asked Pugh. The staff union’s next bargaining session will be held next week. “How the hell are you at the bargaining table if you don’t have no authority? What are you doing? Makes no sense, right?” said Maria Salazar-Colón, president of SEIU 1021’s CCSF chapter. Reps from both unions said they are frustrated by management negotiators claiming they are not empowered to make decisions. According to data from SEIU 1021, CCSF custodians, public safety officers and dispatchers are understaffed by 20 percent, 40 percent and 60 percent, respectively. The staff union, whose contract expired in June 2022 and started bargaining this March, faces a similar situation.

Meanwhile, 3,926 students sat on waitlists for classes prior to the fall semester, according to AFT 2121. The other sticking point is “severe understaffing.” One of the most important sources for trained nurses in the Bay Area, CCSF’s Registered Nursing Department, for example, has cut enrollment by more than 30 percent due to understaffing. “Most faculty at City College would be, like, eighth or ninth out of 10th in the Bay 10 in terms of their salaries,” she said. The union wants that, too, but also asks the district to share “the cost of living adjustment it has received from the state with faculty,” which amounts to a four percent increase next year.Īccording to AFT 2121 secretary Robin Pugh, faculty salaries at City College are now near the bottom of “Bay 10,” which consists of 10 Bay Area community colleges. The district has proposed a roughly nine percent salary increase over the next three years. This has made retention and recruitment difficult, according to union reps. Consequently, wages have been stagnant for three years - in some cases, they’ve even decreased. The faculty’s prior contract expired in June 2021.

David steward for strike recruitment