A New Vision for CCA
CCA will become the largest voice for Social Justice in Higher Education
CCA encompasses and serves 47 local affiliates across 76 districts. We have 10,000+ members and serve 1.8 million students annually, greater than 70% of which are from traditionally marginalized communities of color. The issues facing our students are the same issues we must overcome, and as a union, we need to be unabashedly aligned with the students interests. We will make significant gains when we put them first and our goals become the secondary bi-product of their victories in classroom equity, inclusion, safety and success.
We must actively dismantle the system & structures that have homogenized the faces in front of the classroom, which are distinctly different from those faces who are doing the learning. As we are intentional in recruiting and retaining membership who have lived experiences that resemble the students we teach, we will see more BIPOC students in a tK-16 educational system be the first generation in their family to complete a post-secondary programs of study. We are unlocking the future for students, and student success begets faculty success.
Nobody should be concerned about where their next meal is coming from, if they’ll continue to have a roof over their head next month, the choice between classroom learning or financially supporting their families. These are issues that our students face every day in California; but it is a surprise to most that this is a serious issue for many of our part-time faculty as well. If we know students cannot concentrate when the pangs of hunger rumble through the class, how do we expect our instructors to educate through the same pangs?
Every Member will be given Space for their Voice and Time to be Heard.
CCA is a behemoth of a union, yet still only a small sampling of CTA, which in turn is a small portion of NEA. It can be easy to feel your voice is not heard, your perspective not considered, and your lived experience does not make a difference in the direction of the union. One of my primary objectives, as an agent of change and a tentpole of becoming a union for social justice, will be to ensure that any member, regardless of years or employment status, is given the time and platform to make their concerns known. Unfortunately, for many members, simply providing the space and time to speak will not be enough, and for these members, I will make any necessary accommodations to ensure their voice is heard in the guidance of this union.
Adjunct instructors in the California Community College System disproportionately represent populations from traditionally marginalized communities. It is no surprise that our students’ experiences often resonate with them more than with our full-time faculty who do not have a similar lived experience. We are, and need to continue, fighting like hell to improve the resources and capital investment in our part-time educators, because it is through them that our students’ futures become unlocked.
Renewed & Revitalized Relationships between CCA, CTA, & NEA
CCA is in a precarious position as the voice for all of Higher Education within CTA. We craft the policy, make the suggestions for legislative positions with regard to higher ed, and operate independently in many of our internal, higher ed functions. We have our own governance committee, as well as our own standing rules and bylaws. Our CCA Board of Directors can make decisions and lend guidance to the organization independently of guidance or insight from our K-12 partners. If CCA so chose, they could sever ties with CTA, similar to CFT, and go at it alone.
CCA should not do that because our strength comes from our affiliation with CTA and NEA. We need to rebuild these relationships with CTA District Q (DeWayne Scheaffer) and California Higher Ed NEA Board Member Barbara Jackson. These individuals should be invited to (and reimbursed for) attendance to our CCA Board Meetings. They should be ex-officio members of the CCA board. Their guidance should help CCA make gains within CTA and help to ensure that when CCA needs assistance in combating unfunded legislative agendas, bargaining issues, or representation, these issues receive the full force and throat of CTA, and are not a secondary objective receiving side notes of support.
We are the largest system of higher education in the world, and by far the largest Community College system in the country. It is our job to help a student complete their public education journey through to whatever their goal may be. We need to be leaders within CTA/NEA, and to do that, we need to have open and honest conversations about how to rebuild our relationships with these larger union affiliates.
Empowering Local Grassroots Organization
CCA is served best when the ideas, power and motivation comes from the membership. As Vice President, it will be my goal to identify and empower local union voices. In my time on the CCA Board, the one thing that has stood out to me above all others is how top-down the organization has become. We must change, to seek out the ideas from membership, and allow these ideas to fuel our unions promise towards tomorrow. We have to empower those ideas with funding and time, and through these initiatives we can grow our membership and strengthen our outreach and advocacy. With me, if elected, you will see my experience in collaboration and an ability to check my ego at the door, recognizing the best ideas come from discussion and conversation, not dictation and repetitiveness. If there is an idea that is working, we’ll utilize those members to help spread that idea to other locals, so it can work for them too. If a member, or group of members are facing adversity, there will be the unions strength of membership and ideas standing arm in arm throughout that adversity. Our membership matters, each and every individual, because all of us have a different experience in this world, and the collection of those experiences can never be replaced or replicated. Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to tell their story and share their place is paramount to the engagement and success of CCA as we navigate into an unknown future.