“Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union--”
Woody Guthrie, Union Maid, 1940
The first Labor Day celebration was on September 5, 1882 in New York City. In 1894, the first Monday in September was formally designated as a federal holiday following a year of heightened labor protest culminating in the Pullman Strike.
We lead with this brief historical account to begin with a statement of the renewed commitment of the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor and the entire college administration to the growth and success of the labor movement to help secure economic justice for all and a fair share in the wealth created by capitalism.
At City College of San Francisco, we renew our commitment to our Labor Studies Department. This academic program is even more necessary at this time in order for our students to learn economic history and thus prepare themselves to work and manage in the economy of the 21st century. We pledge our earnest support to work with faculty, students and our external partners from labor and business to create a bright future for Labor Studies in which it becomes one of our most popular programs where students from all disciplines can learn how to work and manage in the economy of the 21st century.
We can all be especially grateful at City College for Labor Day 2018 as the celebration of a turning point during the past year toward a true labor-management partnership. Today we are working and planning together a sustainable future for City College, in every sense of the word sustainable. Last April ȷ and AFT 2121 signed a new three-year collective bargaining agreement that was made possible by our mutual respect and understanding of how we stand on the common ground of social justice: to insure that every San Franciscan has access to a quality higher education. To do this we must continue to recruit and retain the best faculty. On this Labor Day, we can stand together with pride that we have created a healthy collegial climate rooted in the principles of transparency and democracy.
Just as we must recruit and retain the best faculty, we must also recruit and retain the best staff and department chairs. After this Labor Day, we look forward to negotiating “win-win” contracts with SEIU 1021 and the Department Chairs Council.
At this point, we formally thank all of our labor partners for their service and many contributions to the mission of City College:
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121 (AFT)
311 Miramar Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
415.585.2121
Jenny Worley - President (ȷ Faculty)
Alayna Fredricks - Executive Director, afredricks@aft2121.org
Service Employees International Union, Local 1021 (SEIU)
350 Rhode Island Street, #100
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.848.3611 Athena Steff - President (ȷ Classified Employee)
Angela Thomas - Field Rep, angela.thomas@seiu.org
Department Chairperson Council (DCC)
50 Phelan Avenue (Frida Kahlo Way), Box L-136
San Francisco, CA 94112
415.239.3330
Darlene Alioto - President (ȷ employee)
Dennis Piontkowski – Vice President (ȷ Employee)
San Francisco Building & Construction Trade Council Unions (SFBCTCU)
1188 Franklin Street, #203
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.345.9333
Mike Theriault – Secretary-Treasurer, mike@sfbctc.org Stationary Engineers
Local 39 (LOCAL 39)
337 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.861.1135
Michael Rainsford – Business Representative, mrainsford@local39.org
We have learned little from the progressive history of the labor movement if we have not learned that labor unions are under regular attack by those who would turn healthy and regulated competition into a winner-take-all context of “every man for himself”. Our Board of Trustees therefore agrees with these words of the recent resolution of the Board of Supervisors in response to the Janus decision by the Supreme Court:
When people can negotiate together for strong contracts, higher wages, and safer, dignified working conditions, all of us benefit, our communities are stronger, and our entire economy is made more fair; (Resolution 06-018, March 6, 2018)
City College will lead the way in showing that it is not “every man for himself” but rather “every man and woman in it together”. This in our view is the path forward to a sustainable future in which everyone enjoys the human rights of a good job at a living wage, health care and education.
Therefore, let us celebrate this Labor Day all the more for the many benefits we have enjoyed due to the labor movement. In so doing, let us also remember the many workers for whom Labor Day is not a day off.
Sincerely,
FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO:
Dr. Brigitte Davila, President & Mr. Alex Randolph, Vice President
FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO
Dr. Mark Rocha, Chancellor