| Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College |
| SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT |
| Election 2008 The people who control the GCCCD board apparently wanted Mary Kay Rosinski to join them in 2008. Mary Kay Rosinski If they hadn't, Rosinski would not have gotten 68% of the vote after getting only 36% of the vote a few years earlier. Rosinski got almost half her votes from people who voted against her last time. What changed? Not Rosinski. She's a proud union candidate. Why did these people turn against Tim Caruthers? Apparently because he was objecting to bad behavior by Chancellor Omero Suarez and the board's failure to react appropriately to that bad behavior. The word went out that he was toast. I'm wondering if CTA has made another of its "deals with the devil" and has made it clear that it will be happy to work in tandem with corrupt GCCCD lawyers in return for a place on the board. Tim Caruthers, the board member unseated by Rosinski, objected to unethical behavior by the college. I suspect that Rosinski will keep her mouth shut--except when CTA wants to use her as its mouthpiece. I think CTA wants to use her to leverage control for CTA of instructors who have gone to two other unions for support. |
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| GROSSMONT- CUYAMACA COMMUNITY COLLEGE NOV. 4, 2008 SEAT NO. 4 MARY KAY ROSINSKI 68.37% Incumbent TIMOTHY L. CARUTHERS 31.63% |
| * * * NOV. 7 2006 SEAT NO. 1 Incumbent Deanna Weeks 41.60% Mary Kay Rosinski 36.54% Donald "Dr. Don" Sauter15.50% Emad Bakeer 6.36% |
| Third union enters fray to represent instructors By Leonel Sanchez STAFF WRITER September 2, 2006 A third labor union is vying to represent about 1,000 part-time instructors at Grossmont and Cuyamaca community colleges, drawing the ire of its two competitors. The local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers is racing to meet a Sept. 15 deadline to qualify to appear on a ballot with the other two unions if the state labor relations board allows part- time instructors to form their own union. The federation needs the signatures of 300 part- time instructors at the two community colleges. “For now it's a matter of democracy. If it gets on the ballot, we'll shift gear and launch a campaign,” said Jim Mahler, president of the AFT Guild, Local 1931. The union aims to collect the signatures by Sept. 11, he said. The federation has one advantage: Three hundred part-time instructors at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges also work in the San Diego Community College District, which the union represents, Mahler said. The federation's intentions drew immediate fire from the other labor unions competing to represent the part-timers: United Faculty and the Community College Association, which is part of the California Teachers Association. “AFT has initiated an open attack on United Faculty,” union president Zoe Close said in a memo last week after AFT began circulating fliers among faculty. United Faculty, an independent union that currently represents all full-and part-time faculty at Grossmont and Cuyamaca, is also critical of the Community College Association for encouraging part-time instructors to break away. A group of part-time instructors want to form a union that would be affiliated with the Community College Association. Earlier this year the group filed a petition with more than 500 signatures with the state's Public Employment Relations Board, seeking to hold an election. The state board is reviewing the issue, including arguments by United Faculty that its membership should not be broken up. David Milroy, a part-time instructor at Grossmont College who is one of the leaders of the Community College Association drive, said the federation's late entry into the fray is hurting the breakaway effort. “AFT is trying to kidnap our movement,” Milroy said. Grossmont and Cuyamaca college part-time instructors also teach at Southwestern and MiraCosta colleges, which are represented by the Community College Association, he said. In a memo to part-time instructors, Milroy and another organizer said, “The only group that gains by the chaos of the AFT's late participation is the United Faculty, the current full-timer's union from which we are trying to sever.” Milroy said United Faculty cares more about full- time faculty members and their issues. The union his group is proposing would focus on raising pay for part-time instructors and providing health coverage similar to that of full-timers. Close, of United Faculty, countered that the two challengers are large unions more interested in increasing their memberships than representing the interests of part-time instructors, which she said her union is doing. “We're producing,” she said. United Faculty recently reached a tentative agreement with the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District that addresses part- time issues. Part-time instructors are to receive an 8.57 percent pay increase retroactive to last school year and will have access to a medical benefit plan specially designed for them, she said. Details of the health plan will be made available during workshops in November, she said. Milroy said he's skeptical of the agreement and wants to review it. He said United Faculty is concentrating more on part-time issues now because of the threat of a breakaway. “We're pleased that they are finally recognizing that they are supposed to represent part-timers also,” Milroy said. “In past negotiations we hardly got anything.” Close said the union has tried to get better pay and benefits for part-time instructors before but met resistance from the district. |
| The Courier Volume 14, Number 4 NEWS FROM THE APRIL 18, 2006 GOVERNING BOARD MEETING "...Ben Lastimado, Vice Chancellor- Human Resources & Labor Relations, said the board will appeal the Public Employees Review Board (PERB) Administrators Association decision. The California Teachers Association has filed a petition on behalf of Grossmont College part-time faculty. Vice Chancellor Lastimado said the District will not take sides in this filing..." |
| Chancellor Omero Suarez, Trustee Deanna Weeks, Vice Chancellor Ben Lastimado |
[Blogger's note: The three people above seem to be happy that they
illegally fired student trustee Rick Walker because he talked about issues
that they preferred to ignore. Walker's case came up twice during the April
18, 2006 meeting:
1. Trustee Garrett said he learned State Senator Christine Kehoe has
asked for a legal opinion about the ability of student trustees to hold jobs in
the District where they are a trustee and that the board should follow up."
[Blogger's note: the board did not follow up, even when the California
Attorney General said that there was no reason in law to fire anyone simply
because he held the position of student trustee. Attorney Jack Sleeth of
Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz isn't paid to made sure the law is followed.
He's paid to help the board get away with whatever they want to do.]
2. "...Rick Walker, GC student, commented on his legal appeal..."
illegally fired student trustee Rick Walker because he talked about issues
that they preferred to ignore. Walker's case came up twice during the April
18, 2006 meeting:
1. Trustee Garrett said he learned State Senator Christine Kehoe has
asked for a legal opinion about the ability of student trustees to hold jobs in
the District where they are a trustee and that the board should follow up."
[Blogger's note: the board did not follow up, even when the California
Attorney General said that there was no reason in law to fire anyone simply
because he held the position of student trustee. Attorney Jack Sleeth of
Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz isn't paid to made sure the law is followed.
He's paid to help the board get away with whatever they want to do.]
2. "...Rick Walker, GC student, commented on his legal appeal..."
| United Faculty of Grossmont Cuyamaca Community Collges August 27 , 2007. CTA Loses PERB Denies CTA Petition. PERB denies severance petition as filed by CTA. The petition was denied in its entirety. |
| The Courier Volume 13, Number 8 NEWS FROM THE AUGUST 16, 2005 GOVERNING BOARD MEETING ...Administrators Association Representative Marie Ramos read a statement on behalf of the Association on an upcoming PERB meeting, urging Governing Board members to “direct your representatives to preserve the unity (of the Association) and not divide us.” Smith asked for assurance that Academic Senate elections would take place with integrity. Board President Cutting and Trustee Garrett spoke of their personal assurance. Chancellor Suarez added that there would be no compromising the election. [Blogger's note: Why would anyone trust Omero Suarez?] United Faculty President Zoe Close made a statement on the loss of goodwill by faculty, and said, “I ask for only one thing this evening. As members of the Board, ask yourself how you can restore trust to the District.” Support for President Martinez [who was fired] ...Beth Smith, Grossmont College Academic Senate President, applauded the large turnout at the fall convocation. Smith told the Board they have heard support from the campus community and the community at large for President Martinez. Ken Sobel, President of the Grossmont College Foundation Board of Directors, encouraged the Governing Board to extend the contract of Dr. Ted Martinez, Jr. Charlotte Ochiqui, Director of Education for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians; Juan Castellanos, Council of American Indian Organizations of San Diego County; and Darci Dye, Grossmont College Child Development Club, expressed support for President Martinez. Grossmont Counselor Mary Rider told Board members that staff would feel better if they did not have to worry about “our President.” [Governing Board members and staff congratulated Counselor Mary Rider for being named Grossmont College’s Distinguished Faculty Member for 2005- 06.] Grossmont College student Grazyna Toranczak discussed course enrollment problems. Grossmont College student Crystal Sudano expressed disappointment that a math instructor was hired full time elsewhere when he could not be hired full time at Grossmont. |
| CTA Harassment at Southwestern College Freedom Fighters get a vote on decertification The Sun (Southwestern College) By: Sean Campbell 5/30/07 A faction of dissident professors and instructors has claimed a first-round victory in its effort to decertify Southwestern College's faculty union. Professor of Business and Information Systems Frank Paiano said a group that calls itself the Freedom Fighters has collected enough signatures from faculty to force two votes in the fall. Paiano said the California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) would oversee a ballot that would give faculty the choice to dissolve the Southwestern College Education Association (SCEA) and discontinue the "fair share" clause that requires faculty to pay union fees. He said five SWC professors, including SCEA President Janet Mazzarella, confronted him in front of the 400 building while he was collecting signatures for the decertification petition. "They were trying to assassinate me," he said. "I call it the five minute hate. You ever read '1984'? It really upset me. I was useless for the rest of the day. I wasn't able to do anything else." No complaint was filed as of press time. Union executives denied harassing Paiano. Mazzarella said two union executives confronted him not for soliciting signatures but because he was speaking badly about the union's executive team. "They can do what they want," Mazzarella said. "But now they're making it personal. We walked up to him and said we didn't appreciate that you're insulting your colleagues." Fusako Yokotobi, vice president of SWC Human Resources, settled an earlier squabble between the two groups over whether Freedom Fighters could solicit professors for their signatures using faculty mail boxes or by approaching them on campus. In the March 28 e-mail to Paiano, she cited a California government code stating that the Freedom Fighters have the right to solicit employees at SWC and the right to "use institutional bulletin boards, mailboxes, and other means of communication." "Please be advised," she said in the e-mail, "that harassment of district employees or disruption of district activities will not be permitted at any time." ...Mazzarell compared SWC to Grossmont/Cuyamaca, one of California's 12 community college districts with independent unions. Grossmont/Cuyamaca ranked worst on a number of important measures. "This is one of the reasons Grossmont's part-time faculty just left the IFA (independent union) and joined the ranks of (the CTA)," she said. Joan Stroh, a Freedom Fighter, said Mazzarella is comparing SWC to Grossmont, which is the only independent union that has lower faculty salaries than SWC. The other 11 community college districts that have independent unions all have higher salaries than SWC, she said. "She keeps harping on Grossmont," said Stroh... |