Subject: [Staff-l] Important Message from President Beal
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 17:31:32 -0700
List-Id: All-Staff mailing list <staff-l.lists.cca.edu>

*JULY 25, 2014*

*PRESIDENT STEPHEN BEAL ON SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL
1021’s RECENT REQUEST FOR A REPRESENTATION ELECTION AMONG CCA ADJUNCTS AND
LECTURERS*

On Tuesday, July 15, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a
labor-management regulatory agency of the federal government, informed me
in a letter that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local
1021 filed a petition asking for an election among our lecturers and our
adjunct faculty. Local 1021 has petitioned the NLRB to hold the election
within a matter of weeks, before Fall 2014 classes begin.

With an NLRB election, if Local 1021 receives a majority of votes from
those eligible faculty who choose to vote, then Local 1021 would be
authorized to speak and negotiate on behalf of all lecturers and adjuncts
at CCA, regardless of how any individual voted or whether he or she even
cast a ballot. If Local 1021 is certified to represent CCA adjuncts and
lecturers, this representation would be without time limit.

As you may know, SEIU recently launched a national campaign, Adjunct
Action, with a goal of unionizing adjunct faculty at colleges and
universities in several major urban areas. Within the last couple of
months, the adjunct instructors at Mills College and San Francisco Art
Institute voted to be represented by Local 1021, but to date, there is
little information about their bargaining negotiations, and no one knows
whether Local 1021 will effectively address adjunct faculty concerns at
those schools. At other colleges, adjunct faculty voted against
representation by the SEIU.

Labor unions, rightly, have been foundational in our country’s history, and
SEIU is a large nationwide union with millions of members, mostly in the
service, non-professional sector of the economy. Whether Local 1021 will
effectively represent faculty at private colleges in the Bay Area is not
yet known. At this time, I simply do not have enough information to form an
opinion about whether or not Local 1021 representation would benefit our
faculty community.

After completing contract negotiations at the other colleges, Local 1021
will have a record of evidence upon which the CCA community can assess this
union’s skills and effectiveness. It is my preference that an election at
CCA would take place following the completion of those negotiations.

Regardless of the ultimate timing of our election, I will advocate for an
open and deliberative process, one that promotes an informed electorate and
underscores the principles of academic freedom.

I also will urge all eligible voters to cast their ballots, and I strongly
encourage everyone directly impacted by this very important long-term
decision to participate. It should be our collective goal to exceed a 90
percent turnout of voters.

Once the timeline and election process have been set by the NLRB, the
administration will provide timely information to all of you. Our plan is
to post an FAQ page on the CCA website <https://www.cca.edu/node/78703>
within a week. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me (
[email-masked]) or Provost Melanie Corn ([email-masked]) with any questions
or concerns.

I look forward to a collegial and productive process.

Stephen Beal

President

-- 
Stephen Beal
President
California College of the Arts
5212 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94618
and
1111-Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Email: [email-masked]
Telephone: 510-594-3630
Fax: 510-594-3797
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