Dolores Huerta, Lorena Gonzales, Tony Thurmond rally for ArtCenter faculty
Faculty, students and dozens of allies rallied at ArtCenter’s south campus on Thursday June 22. ArtCenter Federation members displayed a petition for strike readiness with hundreds of member signatures.
Dolores Huerta stated, “Teachers right now, are probably one of the most important elements of our society. This organization right here (ArtCenter College) cannot function without its teachers. Without the teachers they don’t exist.” Huerta went on to say, “The main thing to let management know is that you are going to be here no matter how long it takes until we get that contract signed.”
This was an inspiring day for faculty. Watch and share this video of faculty members reading their op-ed from Pasadena Now.
Dominican University ratifies first contract
Dominican University Faculty Local 6604 ratified their first contract, their constitution and an interim Executive Board. The vote in all three was unanimous with 70% of members voting. The union took the opportunity to organize the members by signing up members before the various votes. The local will continue to sign up their peers at the beginning of the fall school year as they build on their success and build power for their future contract negotiations.
Congratulations to Local 6604 and all who supported this effort.
Major data breach for California state retirees and beneficiaries
The CFT has been made aware of a recent incident concerning retiree data. A third-party vendor that assists the CalPERS and CalSTRS systems with tracking retirees and their beneficiaries unfortunately suffered from a security bug in their software, where some members' personal information may have been exposed. Neither PERS nor STRS internal systems have been compromised.
For CalSTRS Members:
If you are an active member of CalSTRS, your information is not a part of this issue. Only current retiree information was potentially exposed. CalSTRS will be creating a dedicated website as well as mailing each impacted retiree a notice with more information. A hotline for members to call with questions is being created and the CFT will share as soon as it’s launched.
For CalPERS Members:
CalPERS will begin sending letters to every retiree or designated family member with impacted personal information. Those letters include detailed information, including free access to credit monitoring through Experian for two years.
CalPERS is also setting up a dedicated page on its website for members who might have additional questions. Members can visit calpers.ca.gov/PBI or they can send questions by email to [email protected]. They can also call 833-919-4735, Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. PST and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST (excluding major holidays).
In Solidarity
Starbucks Workers United said that workers in at least 22 states were told not to decorate their stores for Pride month. Workers will begin walking off of the job in over 150 stores across the country starting today.
Unite Here 11 rallies at LAX: Around 200 workers and multiple elected officials were arrested Thursday at a rally. Many CFT members participated, including UTLA leaders and members. Check out coverage of the event here.
