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