JULY 25, 2014

PRESIDENT STEPHEN BEAL ON SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 1021=E2=80=99s RECENT REQUEST FOR A REPRESENTATIO= N ELECTION AMONG CCA ADJUNCTS AND LECTURERS

On Tuesday, July 15, th= e 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 ho= ld 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 o= r she even cast a ballot. If Local 1021 is certified to represent CCA adjunct= s and lecturers, this representation would be without time limit.

As you may know, SEIU r= ecently launched a national campaign, Adjunct Action, with a goal of unionizing adj= unct faculty at colleges and universities in several major urban areas. Within t= he 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 tho= se schools. At other colleges, adjunct faculty voted against representation by= the SEIU.

Labor unions, rightly, = have been foundational in our country=E2=80=99s history, and SEIU is a large nat= ionwide union with millions of members, mostly in the service, non-professional sec= tor of the economy. Whether Local 1021 will effectively represent faculty at pr= ivate colleges in the Bay Area is not yet known. At this time, I simply do not ha= ve enough information to form an opinion about whether or not Local 1021 repre= sentation would benefit our faculty community.

After completing contra= ct negotiations at the other colleges, Local 1021 will have a record of evidence upon which= the CCA community can assess this union=E2=80=99s skills and effectiveness. It = is my preference that an election at CCA would take place following the completion of those negotiations.

Regardless of the ultim= ate 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.=C2=A0

I also will urge all el= igible 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 e= lection process have been set by the NLRB, the administration will provide timely i= nformation to all of you. Our plan is to post an FAQ page on the CCA website within a week. In the meantime, please don=E2=80=99t hesitate to contact me (sbeal@cca.edu) or Provost Melanie Corn (mcorn@cca.edu) with any questions or concer= ns.

I look forward to a col= legial and productive process.

Stephen Beal

President

Stephen Beal

President=C2=A0

California College of the Arts

5212 Broadway

Oa= kland, CA 94618=C2=A0

and

1111-Eighth Street

= San Francisco, CA 94107

Email: sbeal@cca.ed= u

Telephone: 510-594-3630

Fax: 510-594-3797