By Sandy Daenerys
Students, faculty, staff and union advocates unite and show support for CCSF at SF City Hall at Civic Center
Dozens of faculty members, students, community allies and union advocates of City College of San Francisco gathered in solidarity on a warm and sunny Saturday morning to take a stand for public education. This is the final rally and march at San Francisco City Hall to protest the collegeβs proposal of impending budget cuts and staff layoffs. City Collegeβs trustees are planning to vote on budget cuts to full-time staff on May 10th.
City College student shares information about the collegeβs trustees and where they stand on budget cuts
Unfortunately, City College has lost 39% of its enrollment over the last decade β from 90,000 to 55,000 full- and part-time students. This steep plunge in enrollment that has not yet been recovered, is most likely due to the βfive-year accreditation crisis from 2012 to 2017β. This created a $33 million deficit and as such has led the trustees and administrators at City College to find ways to make up for this in a massive staff layoff. City Collegeβs Faculty Union believes that βthe college should be raising this $33 million that is needed to close its deficit from federal, state and local sourcesβ (Source: SF Chronicle).
Timothy Rottenberg, a faculty member from Skyline College and member of AFT 1493, and one of the featured speakers at the City Hall Rally on May 8th, 2021
The proposed layoff includes over 600 teachers, librarians and counselors. 163 full-time teachers received layoff warnings and 447 part-time teachers were also expected to be part of this large layoff (Source: SF Chronicle). In addition, a large number of classes would be canceled; over 30,000 students who rely on these classes every semester would be negatively affected.
Supporters held up homemade signage in the form of posters, banners, flyers and flags that summarized more details about the impending budget cuts surrounding this ongoing crisis that was first publicly announced in 2020. Some honest and encouraging signs read: βFund Education Without Reservationβ, βRestore 2019 Classes, Education is Lifelongβ, βCut Barriers, Not Teachersβ and βThese Cuts Wonβt Healβ.
Select speakers were warmly greeted and supported by a great amount of captivating energy and positive vibes within the crowd of supporters of City College. 53% to 100%. This is the percent of layoffs that some heavily impacted departments are facing. The Womenβs & Gender Studies Department and the Philippine Studies Department are at risk of having 100% of their department staff laid off. Other departments that were threatened with layoff proposals included English as a Second Language (ESL) (53%), Nursing (56%) and Culinary & Hospitality (61%) (Source: AFT2121.org).
City College is known for providing free quality education for San Francisco residents and many immigrants rely on the ESL classes to learn the language skills to enable them to live and thrive in a new city with confidence. Cutting 53% of these ESL classes would devastate this immigrant population who rely on City College as a crucial resource for language education.
A great deal of community allies including American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 1493, CCSF Collective and Jobs for Justice, united together and were present at the May 8th rally. Timothy Rottenberg, a faculty member from Skyline College and member of AFT 1493, and one of the featured speakers at the rally, shared that βeven one class cut does harm to our community. Even one studentβs dreams are worth protecting. With the strength of Union solidarity, let us proclaim, an injury to one is an injury to all!β
Speakers and rally organizers at the City Hall Rally led some memorable chants to physically and emotionally engage supporters and to help the group recharge by refocusing on key takeaways and next steps. A group march throughout the city followed shortly afterwards.
Skyline College Faculty Member Timothy (Left) & Sandy By The Bay (Right)
A week earlier on May 1st, in celebration of International Workers Day, union advocates from numerous industries marched together in the thousands, from The Ferry Building to San Francisco City Hall at Civic Center. Faculty, staff, and students from City College have been continuously rallying with their labor colleagues and spreading awareness about the impending budget crisis facing CCSF since these proposed budget cuts were announced.
HOW TO SAVE CCSF - Provided by AFT2121.org
SIGN your name to AFT 2121βs Open Letter to CCSFβs Trustees imploring them to remember that their role is to lead the fight to preserve and expand CCSF, not dismantle it. http://bit.ly/CCSFTrustees
CONTACT the Mayor & Your Supervisor: Tell Them to Stand Up for City College: https://tinyurl.com/v8fu5um5
READ about Workforce Education Recovery Fund (WERF) expansion: https://tinyurl.com/567e4rz2
ADD YOUR NAME to the Fund our CCSF petition:
http://bit.ly/Petition2SaveCCSFTELL YOUR CCSF STORY, record 90 second CCSF success stories
Record your story on this site: https://hope.xyz/ccsf
