June 2008
Top 10 things to do during this summer of uncertainty
- Join the Alliance for the CSU.
The Alliance for the CSU is a broad coalition of students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, parents, business, and community leaders working together to protect funding for the CSU. Stopping cuts to the CSU budget protects student access to higher education and also saves Lecturer jobs. Join the Alliance at http://www.allianceforthecsu.org/
- Notify your chair of your availability for work in Fall 2008.
It is important that all Lecturers send an email listing courses they have taught plus other courses they believe they are qualified to teach. Include summer contact information.
- Make good use of the statewide CFA website.
It contains the CSU-CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the CFA Lecturers' Handbook, Faculty Magazine, CFA Research Briefs, as well as the weekly CFA Headlines with the latest news on the state budget and CFA activities. http://www.calfac.org
- Apply for unemployment benefits if you are eligible.
Most Lecturers have contingent appointments and are eligible for unemployment benefits during breaks in the academic year because their future work is contingent on budget and enrollment and they have no "reasonable assurance” of future work. The information you need for applying as well as appealing decisions is available at http://www.calfac.org/unemployment.html
Also check the CFA Lecturers’ Handbook, pp. 21-24
- Make sure you know your appointment rights.
Review the employment section in the Lecturers’ Handbook, pp. 9-14. Review Article 12.29 in the CBA for the assignment order of work for Lecturers. All Lecturers who have been evaluated have “careful consideration” rights for work. The administration must follow the order of appointment in Article 12.29 (a) when assigning work at the beginning of the academic year. Decisions regarding re-appointment must be based on your official Personnel Action File. You have the right to see your file.
- If you believe you are entitled to a three-year appointment, check with your department.
Departments are required to post no later than June 30 a list of Lecturers who are eligible for three-year appointments. A Lecturer who has taught six consecutive years in a department (at least one semester or two quarters per academic year) is eligible for a three-year appointment. The initial and rollover appointments are automatic unless there is documented unsatisfactory performance. Denial is grievable. Lecturers with three-year appointments have enhanced job security. If there is insufficient work to meet their entitlement, their appointment remains in effect until work returns. If they are at the end of a three-year appointment and there is insufficient work, the Lecturers go on a recall list and must be offered work they are qualified to do as it becomes available, following the hiring order in Article 12 of the contract.
- Keep checking your department schedule of classes to see what courses have been assigned and to whom.
This schedule should be available online. Departments must meet the entitlements of Lecturers with three-year appointments and give “careful consideration” to other incumbent Lecturers before hiring any new Lecturers. Departments must also offer additional work, if available, to Lecturers according to Article 12.29 (8).
- Apply everywhere and teach the heaviest load possible in the fall.
You can teach up to 16 units in a term at one campus. (See p. 14 of the Lecturers’ Handbook for restrictions on this workload). If possible, apply in other departments on your campus or at other CSU campuses. Part-time Lecturers can teach up to 18 units per term if teaching at more than one CSU campus. You can accrue units from more than one department and more than one CSU campus to maintain eligibility for health benefits.
- Look at all your options.
For example, retired annuitants (those retired from the CSU and receiving a CalPERS pension) continue to receive health benefits as long as they were eligible for benefits when they retired and retired within 120 days of separating from the CSU. Some Lecturers who are eligible to retire have done so when they faced losing work and their health benefits. This is a huge decision to make and you would need to consult with your campus benefits or human resources office as well as directly with CalPERS. There is no guarantee that a retired annuitant would be re-appointed if Lecturer work reappears because when Lecturers retire, they lose their established entitlement, including three-year appointment status. (See pp. 20-21 of the Lecturers’ Handbook for more information on eligibility for CalPERS retirement benefits.)
- If you are told that you will not be re-appointed or that your entitlement will not be met in the fall, contact CFA to learn what your rights are.
To find your campus Lecturer Representative, go to http://www.calfac.org/lecturerscouncil.html
These are difficult and uncertain times for Lecturer faculty. That cannot be denied. But you have Lecturer Representatives who know the contract and who understand what you are going through. You also have a union that fought hard in the last contract to protect and improve Lecturer rights and is fighting hard in Sacramento to stop budget cuts and save Lecturer jobs.
- Elizabeth Hoffman
CFA Associate Vice President-Lecturers
English, Long Beach
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