Many members of AFT1493 spoke at the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) board meeting again on Wednesday, Sept. 10, regarding the ongoing negotiations between them and the board for an annual raise. 

AFT1493 showed up to the meeting at 5 p.m., and talked openly about how the raise proposed by the board will not counter the rapidly increasing inflation rates throughout the county. Many of those who took the podium brought up the question of how a community college district in one of the wealthiest counties in the country could not afford to successfully pay their faculty a comfortable salary. 

Alongside AFT1493 was the California School Employees Association (CSEA) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Annette M. Perot, president of CSEA Chapter 33 for SMCCCD, said that CSEA Chapter 33’s goal was to bring more information for the board to discuss in closed session after the initial public discussion meeting.

“The goal is for them [the board] to have a conversation with their chief negotiator and hopefully give their chief negotiator a direction to give us a better offer,” Perot said.

Skyline associate professor Luis Zúñiga said that over the past few months, as negotiations have been going on, the frustration with the board has been festering because AFT1493 believes the board has not been taking their offers seriously.

“I think the biggest mistake has been that the district does not think that faculty can strike, and it’s unfortunate that the district then needs to see a movement for a strike, for them to believe that the strike would happen,” Zúñiga said. 

Zúñiga also mentioned how the protests have united AFT1493, CSEA, and AFSCME together in their fight for a higher annual raise.

“That just tells you that it’s not just the faculty that are frustrated with the district, it just tells you that everybody that works for the district is suffering from these bad offers,” Zúñiga said.

Ryan Shannon, union representative for AFSCME Council 57, said that it is ultimately coming down to the district to decide how long offers are going to continue to be passed around because they have all the information they need to make their decision. He also said that the next steps are to keep sharing their voices at the meetings and hopefully find resolution before the holidays.

“We’re going to keep showing up with AFT and CSEA at these meetings until we can get something done,” Shannon said. “If not, we have to start talking to our members, and so do the other unions, about what we have to do next, which could ultimately lead to a strike.”

The next SMCCCD board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 6 p.m. and the unions will renegotiate with the board again on Monday, Sept. 22.