Campus Equity Week starts on Monday!

Campus Equity Week is a national week of action, education, and activism that draws attention to the working conditions of faculty working on temporary, low-paid contracts, who now constitute the majority of college instructors.

This year Campus Equity Week, which begins Monday, will take place as we continue our push for part-time faculty healthcare. We’ve already won $200 million in ongoing funding from the state, now it will be up to us to secure these critical benefits in negotiations with college administrations at the local level.

To help organize for Campus Equity week take a look at this CFT toolkit compiled by the CFT Part-Time Faculty Committee. The toolkit contains a great set of materials, including a social media guide, signs, zoom backgrounds, links to studies, and more. Check in with your local union and make sure to share your photos using the hashtags #CampusEquityWeek and #FacultyHealthcareNow.

Thanks to all who continue to organize, including the faculty at West Valley-Mission Federation of Teachers (pictured above), who spoke out at their trustee meeting this week.

Act now to start your Public Service Loan Forgiveness application

If you have student debt and work for a public school you could have your entire student debt balance forgiven, but you MUST take action before Oct. 31, 2022.

The AFT settled a landmark court case last October that set in motion significant, but temporary, changes to the eligibility requirements for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Since that time, hundreds of AFT members who have had their entire loan balances wiped away thanks to our union’s efforts.

For more information, go to this helpful AFT PSLF web page. You can also go directly to the PSLF application page to begin the process.

Daily online student debt clinics are also available, presented by the AFT. Sign up here.

October 27 webinar: Asian American Workers Rising

All are welcome to join our upcoming webinar on Asian American workers next Thursday, October 27 at 4:00 p.m. The webinar will seek to better understand anti-Asian hate in a historic context, and to explore what CFT and the AAPI community can do together to promote racial justice. Presenters include two CFT Vice Presidents: UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong and UTLA Secretary Arlene Inouye.

Topics include:

A brief history of Asian American workers
Asian American Studies resources for educators in TK-12 and higher education
The rise in anti-Asian hate and what we can do about it
The 30th anniversary of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), the first national Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) worker organization within the U.S. labor movement.

For more details and to register, click here.

Don’t forget to review CFT’s Educators Choice Voter Guide before casting your ballot

Before casting your ballot, make sure to review CFT’s Educators Choice Voter Guide, which has voting recommendations for local and statewide candidates and initiatives.