Hi All,

Last week we focused on the gains for adjuncts. This week I want to focus on full- time faculty benefits. I want to thank Bill Elarton-Selig and Sharon Hendricks for the information they supplied for this Wednesday Win. Open enrollment has begun and will end on Friday, October 14, 2022, at 5:00 PM. I hope you attend the Benefits Conference this Friday, September 23, at 10:00 AM. For more information or to register, see the attached flyer or use this

link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfidFOEvmaQIcXARpjBYGY– HBW_FTFYS0qIaETy5m5tFIOJxg/viewform.

The union fought for and continues to fight for all evaluations and the tenured process to be instructive and not punitive. We want to allow every tenure track faculty to make tenure by providing them with improvement plans where needed. While the administration plays a role in the process, this is a faculty-driven process.

Most of our gains for full-time faculty have been centered on benefits. After losing the Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), the Guild fought hard and was able to have that restored. We improved our PPO plans from an 80% covered and 20% copay to a 90% covered ten-dollar copay with no cost to our employees. We improved our vision care to cover polycarbonate lenses and all coatings and were able to add computer glasses coverage for all employees. We were able to add reimbursement for retirees for Medicare Part B premiums. Full-time faculty will benefit from a secure retirement that will be payable for the rest of their lives and can be shared with beneficiaries. To understand options, faculty can go to CalSTRS.com and look at their options for how they might plan financially for their retirement security.

The Guild has long advocated for better education for our members on retirement and health benefits through our Health Benefit and Retirement Conference – which we’ve held for the past 15 years. I hope all our faculty can attend the benefits conference tomorrow at 10:00 AM and the various workshops that will be held (see the attached flyer for details). The Guild has been committed to equipping our full and part-time faculty with the knowledge they need to make the best decisions for their selves and their family members. Our union has had a long history of supporting adjuncts’ plans for their retirement security – through our influence on the board; we now have a dedicated focus at CalSTRS on part-time educators and their retirement security

https://www.calstrs.com/part-time-educator.

We are for all faculty. Our contract isn’t perfect, and we are working hard in every negotiation to strengthen and improve it. Most of the gains in our contract have been a fight. These contract negotiations will be one of the most difficult we have had. We can only win with your help. Please make sure you fill out the contract survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8Zx0QvWqUvVBpC59pTdxM1 Shj27ea4KtYPtdgOdAOI3HEyw/viewform and make sure your voice is heard. Let’s keep improving the contract for all our faculty. Let us fight for each other. Together we can get the respect and contract we deserve. When we fight, we win

In Unity,

A. James McKeever PhD

AFT 1521 Faculty Guild President