We wanted to share some information with you that has buoyed our spirits after an otherwise brutal couple of days at the bargaining table.
739 of you have signed the Hold the Line, Hold the Grades, Hold Spring Term pledge (launched 4 days ago). This shows an incredible amount of resolve after 2.5 weeks on strike!
On Thursday we launched a survey to take the temperature of membership as we head into week 3. To date, 701 of you have taken the survey. There is nothing in the responses to indicate weakened resolve. Highlights:
- 94% of respondents said they are ready to stay on strike for fair wages, including compensation to complete winter quarter labor and responsibilities.
- The #1 concern among our members—more than financial strain, more than workload, more than our own health and wellbeing—was the impact of the strike on students. Which says everything about who we are
- There is still time to take the survey(link in your email)! Hopefully it goes without saying that we welcome responses that are critical. We are in a wrenching situation that most of us have never experienced.
- Your FFAP Executive Council (whose votes are needed to approve a tentative agreement on the re-opener) has instructed the bargaining team not to sign off on an agreement without full restorative compensation for winter quarter labor.
The bargaining team received another proposal from management this morning that includes the option to cash out a limited amount of personal leave as compensation for strike days. Management’s proposal was not acceptable and would not make us whole, but it did make us wonder if members would entertain the idea of some leave time cash-out combined with one-time payments as a possible path to restorative pay. We want to know how you feel about this and will be reaching out over the weekend and early next week to gather feedback.
You probably also heard that administration’s offer was accompanied by a hostile and insulting letter in which PCC Board members Tiffani Penson and Greg McKelvey threaten wage theft for PCC employees who complete winter term work after the strike. The rest of the board members did not sign the letter, and that seems significant to us.
Here is our response. (Grab some popcorn!)
We anticipate bargaining throughout the weekend. We will keep you posted as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please visit the strike website for information about representing FFAP tomorrow at No King’s Day!