Celebrating Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month is an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the contributions women have made to our culture and society and reflect on women who have fought for change in labor, education, science, the arts, and politics. Originally started as a weeklong recognition in Sonoma in 1978, Women’s History Month was formally recognized by Congress in 1987.
As part of CFT’s recognition of Women’s History Month, we’ve curated a collection of lesson plans for your classroom and inspiration for your union, home, and beyond.
AFT’s Share My Lesson also has a comprehensive set of resources recognizing the month, including preK-12 lesson plans and class activities to incorporate key figures and historical events in your Women’s History Month teaching. The collection spans topics like women’s suffrage and women’s rights and features influential women in science, social justice and sports.
State audit finds California community colleges rely too much on part-time faculty and misspend funds
A newly released report from California’s State Auditor found that California’s community colleges rely too much on part-time faculty and misspend funds meant to expand the ranks of full-time faculty.
The auditor found that the community college districts are not meeting the goal established by state lawmakers more than 30 years ago to have 75 percent of instruction taught by full-time faculty. Additionally, his office found that the Chancellor’s Office measures progress toward the goal using a metric that is not suited for the task, and districts have generally not made substantial progress toward the goal during the past 20 years.
The auditor’s calculations show that the districts’ actual percentage of instruction by full-time faculty can sometimes be significantly lower than the current metric suggests, and a lack of oversight by the Chancellor’s Office allowed some districts to improperly use the funds allocated for hiring full-time faculty. The report also found that community colleges have come up short in efforts to diversify the faculty.
CFT urged lawmakers to order the audit, and now will work to hold the community college system and our elected leaders in Sacramento accountable to their commitments to expand full-time opportunities to part-time faculty.
President Biden nominates Julie Su to become next US Secretary of Labor
Great news to report! This week President Biden nominated Julie Su to become the next Secretary of Labor. A fierce advocate for workers and justice, Julie Su is ideally suited to lead the Department of Labor based on her years of advocacy and leadership experience.
CFT President Jeff Freitas joined labor leaders from across the country in urging the President to nominate her for the position, following the announced retirement of current Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
In a statement released yesterday, Freitas and CFT Executive Council Vice President Kent Wong applauded her appointment, and highlighted its importance to the AAPI community.
“Julie Su also joins Biden’s cabinet as its only Asian American member. As AAPI hate continues to rise across our country, we are grateful to see representation of the community at such a high level and hope to see her appointment serve as inspiration for the AAPI students we serve in our schools,” they wrote.
The Senate should confirm her appointment without delay.
