In accordance with the Federation’s Constitution, we will be holding officer elections this term. The following positions are up: President, PT Vice President, Secretary, Communications Officer, and Organizing Officer. These are two year terms, with the exception of PT Vice President. The candidate statements and descriptions for each position are below.

Election Results

The following candidates were elected to their respective offices during the SP23 election with voting period from 5/29/2023-6/3/2023:

President: Kelsey Iino

PT VP: Laila Dellapasqua + Helen Kang

Secretary: Laura Saldarriaga

Communications Officer: Shane Ochoa

Organizing Officer: Laila Dellapasqua + Alireza Ahmadpour

If you are interested in viewing precise results, they can be accessed by clicking through your original ballot link, sent to your email inbox, and clicking on the “View election results” link. If you need assistance, please contact us at eccfederation@gmail.com.

Candidates

President: Kelsey Iino

PT VP: Laila Dellapasqua + Helen Kang (running together)

Secretary: Laura Saldarriaga

Communications Officer: Darcie McClelland, Shane Ochoa

Organizing Officer: Laila Dellapasqua + Alireza Ahmadpour (running together)

Candidate Statements

Kelsey Iino (President)

I have served as our Federation President for the past four years and would be honored to continue to serve as we continue to improve campus culture, build a stronger union, and work towards settling our collective bargaining agreement.

Helen Kang + Laila Dellapasqua (PT VP)

As Co-VPs for the Federation we are committed to representing part time faculty, who comprise close to 70% of the faculty body, to uplift and amplify their voices while educating and engaging them on matters that impact all of us as El Camino College employees and human beings in the field of education. We want our faculty colleagues to know they matter and through coming together to support each other, our voices will never be silent and we can work hand-in-hand as a unified force to create the conditions needed for us to make the difference we want to make for our students and our campus community.

In Solidarity,

Helen and Laila

Laura Sadarriaga (Secretary)

I am running for secretary again because I would like to continue supporting and serving the faculty at El Camino College as part of the Federation Executive Board.

Darcie McClelland (Communications Officer)

Clear communication and responsiveness to feedback are important to the success of any large organization. At this critical time, we need to ensure that all member’s voices are heard and considered in decisions about our contract and working conditions. I believe each and every faculty member of this college deserves unbiased, transparent, timely communication from faculty leaders so that you can consider available options and make the best decision for yourselves and your families. If elected as your Communications Officer, I will work to gain your trust and dedicate my time and energy to ensuring that every member has a clear understanding of the contract, negotiations, Federation Activities, next steps, and how the decisions being made will affect your working conditions and lives.

Shane Ochoa (Communications Officer)

A wise man once taught me that a core strategy in union organizing is to “educate and agitate.” This phrase has stuck with me ever since, and I now feel it is woven into the fabric of who I am, not only as educator, but as a fierce warrior for the rights of ALL workers here at El Camino.

During these tenuous negotiations, I have tried my best to gauge what my colleagues and others on campus want from the college. What I think it boils down to is this: fair and competitive pay, full healthcare coverage for all, better overall treatment of part-time faculty and above all, a higher level of respect for the work each individual does here on campus.

I am proud of the work the Federation has done to keep us informed, united and agitated. What is more catalyzing than truly learning how we are undervalued in all that we do – especially in comparison to colleges that are a few miles away? As Communications Chair, my aim would be to continue this momentum and inspire more on campus to fight for what we all truly deserve. Just recently, I created a flyer that broke down the Impasse process in digestible terms – in the hopes that this could work as a crucial supplement to the vital information the Federation has given us throughout the negotiations process. Hopefully, finding a way to share this information in multi-modal ways could work to educate and then inspire more individuals to become a collective force. Additionally, I imagine the Communications Chair to work within a Communications committee – inspired by the success of both the Research and Organizing committee! Ideally, this committee could have diverse representation from all facets of the college, as the aim would be to cultivate a true democratic voice for workers here at El Camino. We are stronger together.

To put it bluntly, I am a WarriorPoet. I fight for what’s right, but I also know the importance of being informed and cultivating skills and methods to teach and reach the most people. Plus, if my drums are any indication, I can GET LOUD when needed.

Thanks for taking the time to read! #unionstrong #strongertogether #sisepuede

Laila Dellapasqua + Ali Ahmadpour (Organizing Officer)

Having spent so much time engaging and thinking about our struggles for an equitable workplace and considering the fragmented and fragile state of our unity, we are eager to establish a community of leaders, where every member of our Federation could confidently speak up for the rest of us. By intensifying our efforts, we plan to organize and mobilize our colleagues to ensure a better contract and working conditions. We are both optimistic about the potentials of our community and realistic about the challenges we face. We are planning both a short and a long term plan of action to meticulously establish a very strong and effective collective; where, the El Camino District no longer dares to push us around. However, we are only able to achieve this with your support. “I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people.” – Eduardo Galeano

In Solidarity, Ali and Laila

Officer Duties

The duties of the President shall include:
a. Presiding at meetings of the Federation, including the Executive Board.
b. Serving as an ex-officio member of all Federation committees.
c. Signing all necessary papers and documents.
d. Representing the Federation when and where necessary.
e. Working in a collegial manner with other groups representing faculty
interests.
f. Reporting to the membership at least once a year summarizing the
accomplishments of the Federation and outlining plans for the future.
g. Acting as co-signer on all financial accounts.
h. Pre-approve budgeted expenditures before being paid by the Treasurer.
i. Serving an additional six months as an ex-officio (non-voting) executive
officer (“Past President”) after the conclusion of the elected term.
j. The president position can be held by co-presidents if elected by the
membership.
k. The President will have final oversight of the COPE.

The duties of Part-Time Faculty Vice President shall include:
a. Performing all presidential duties in the absence of the President and Executive Vice President.
b. Serving in a liaison capacity as one of the primary communication links representing part-time faculty interests and concerns within the Federation leadership.
c. Carrying out such additional executive and administrative responsibilities on behalf of the Federation as may be determined by the Executive Board.
d. Attend conferences that address part-time related issues.
e. Chair Part-Time Faculty Committee

The duties of the Secretary shall include:
a. Recording the minutes of all general membership and Executive Board
meetings.
b. Issuing all notices and answering all correspondence at the direction of the
President and the Executive Board.
c. Acting as the custodian of the seal and the charter of the Federation.

The duties of the Communications officer shall include:
a. Coordinating the work of consistent communications with members through the Federation’s website, digital and paper publications, and social media platforms.
b. Coordinating consistent communications with the campus community and the communities we serve.
c. Chairing, as needed, a committee to do the communications work of the union.
d. Attending meetings and delivering reports as directed by the Executive Board (e.g. BOT, Senate, College Council, COPE, etc.)

The duties of the Organizing officer shall include:
a. Coordinating the outreach and organizing of members and nonmembers.
b. Maintaining the membership rolls of the Federation, including submitting monthly membership updates to the district payroll staff (e.g. addition of new Federation members and removal of members who drop membership or retire).
c. Reporting the faculty unit size to the Treasurer each term.
d. Chairing the organizing committee to do the member organizing and outreach of the union.