September 5, 2022 update

Because of the mobilization of faculty, family, friends, and allies across the state (see original story and ask below), the California legislature allocated $200 million for PT health care benefits. This historic victory means that community college districts can be reimbursed from this $200 million fund to provide PT health care benefits to their employees, but districts are not obligated to do so.

That means that across the state, local unions need to negotiate with their employers to ensure these funds are used on our campuses. Such a deal seems like a no-brainer. However, in many districts administrators will resist using this money to provide a basic human right.

At El Camino College, the Federation will be negotiating this new benefit for PT faculty and will need your support and help. To get involved in the campaign, please contact the chair of our PT committee, Laila Dellapasqua at vespa250cc@gmail.com

Below is the original story published February 23, 2022.

Far too many part-time faculty in California do not have access to affordable quality healthcare. The lack of healthcare access for many part-timers, a reality made all the more pernicious and conspicuous during a pandemic, is symptomatic of the far-reaching exploitation of contingent faculty. A majority of part-time faculty across California have deemed the creation of a healthcare pool important.¹ 

In response, CFT launched a state-wide campaign in October 2021 to secure healthcare funding for part-time faculty. This campaign has already achieved a foundational win. In January 2022, Governor Newsom allocated $200 million for part-time healthcare to the state budget. This is significant as it represents an increase of almost 400 times the existing funding for part-time healthcare!² 

But, we have more work to do. We need guarantees that this funding will remain in the state budget. Part-time faculty deserve quality healthcare that is affordable, and we must continue the work for a more equitable higher education system. We are asking our colleagues to please support this effort in the following ways:

• Send a letter to the state legislature to support part-time healthcare now! 
• PT faculty across the state will be testifying before state legislators on April 5th. Please reach out if you are interested in providing testimony: email erussell@elcamino.edu or sign up directly at https://www.cft.org/pt-hearings-april-5. CFT will provide speaker training. 
• Additionally, CFT recently launched a survey to better understand the healthcare needs of PT faculty. We encourage all current PT faculty to complete this important survey:  https://www.cft.org/pt-survey. The survey will take about 15 minutes and the results will provide critical data that will strengthen our advocacy efforts.

¹In a 2020 survey, 73% of CFT respondents thought the creation of a healthcare pool was important or very important for part-time faculty. https://www.cft.org/article/cft-launches-campaign-secure-healthcare-part-time-faculty

 ²You can read more about the campaign here: https://www.cft.org/article/member-action-leads-governor-pledge-200-million-toward-part-time-faculty-healthcare