Another Vote Coming in PCC Faculty Union Battle

After a close vote, lawyers for the members of the Pasadena Faculty Association (FA) will once again vote on the future of the union.

In July a petition circulated calling for the dissolution of the FA in favor of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) Union of Educators and Classified Professionals, the same union that members of the ArtCenter of College Design voted to join in June.

The California Federation of Teachers is a statewide union that represents education workers.

Some members of the faculty were reportedly unhappy with PCCFA handling of the recent showdown with PCC administration over COVID-19 distance learning.

But in the fall vote, faculty association came up just one vote short of the needed votes to secure victory. 

“As many of you know from our last membership meeting, the CFT (California Federation of Teachers) did not earn enough votes in the decertification to oust the FA as primary negotiators and union representatives for faculty in our community at Pasadena City College,” the FA posted on its website earlier this month. “However, the FA missed a majority of all votes cast by 1 ballot, so PERB will be scheduling a run-off on decertification, likely taking place in late-December-January or later. [This is still being negotiated by all parties and we are still in a holding-pattern as parties negotiate the specifics of this run-off].”

The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) is a quasi-judicial administrative agency charged with administering the collective bargaining statutes covering employees of California’s public schools, colleges, and universities.

According to the association, the group has in the last nine years successfully negotiated a pay increase of approximately 25% for full time faculty.

In that same time period, the association has also successfully negotiated a pay increase of just over 29% for part-time faculty, the association said.

“Anyone paying attention in the last few years should know that a teddy bear with a clipboard could do better for the faculty than PCC Faculty Association has done, yet CFT’s Sandra Weese has failed quite spectacularly in capitalizing on the accumulated ill will built up against PCCFA,” said one faculty member that did not wish to be named. “If the majority of PCC’s faculty do not suddenly realize, on their own, that discarding their useless union for a larger and more powerful organization (which could accomplish much for them) would be the best thing they’ve done in the last 20 years, then they are beyond anyone’s ability to help, and will have only themselves to blame if CFT loses the upcoming election run-off. Nobody else is planning to ride in to save them from this disaster. And they wonder why PCC faculty are among the lowest paid in the entire surrounding area.  To borrow a catchprase from Carville, ‘It’s the union, stupid.’”

The FA says that the website and in numerous communications, they have shared the “impressive gains” made in the last 10 years, the gains they say came in contract negotiations, expanded leadership representation, and equity and transparency in operations. 

The Faculty Association was on the right side of the June statewide direct primary election in June. The challengers endorsed by the association swept the PCC Board of Trustee elections knocking three incumbents out of office.

“We know that you want a board that will be able to champion the voices and needs of our faculty, and that’s why we not only need your vote, we need your voice!”