My name is Margaret and I, along with the rest of the faculty and staff at Community College of Philadelphia, need your help to demand a fair contract with the College administration.
As a fellow Sierra Club volunteer leader and member of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2026, I understand that a sustainable and just future is one where all workers have access to family-supporting wages, fair work hours, and educational support. Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) faculty and staff have been working without a new contract for more than two and a half years, while negotiating in good faith to push back against the worst contract proposed in the College’s history. We have sought to negotiate fair terms, but because the College administration has refused to budge, we are now prepared to go on strike, if necessary.
We cannot accept the administration’s contract offer, which would impose these draconian conditions:
- The CCP Administration would continue to pay less than $15 per hour to dozens of its staff. There are staff members who have worked at CCP full time for many years yet still qualify for food stamps.
- The CCP Administration would eliminate retiree health benefits for new employees, worth thousands of dollars per year to retirees.
- The CCP Administration would require massive increases in employee contributions to health care costs, which would largely negate the low pay raises they are offering.
- The CCP Administration would require that new full-time faculty teach an extra course each semester, while requiring current faculty to choose between the current teaching load or take on an extra course at less than pro-rata pay. This amounts to mandatory overtime at low pay for all faculty. It is bad for students. With as many as 180 students per semester, faculty would have less time to provide the attention and guidance students need. To benefit students, the union has proposed reducing class sizes.
- The CCP administration would seize virtually total control over educational decisions at the college. For decades, we have had a system of shared governance in which faculty and staff have a major role in decisions affecting educational quality. This longstanding system has worked, but now the CCP administration wants to exert almost all the power.
We cannot accept a contract that neglects the basic needs of staff, faculty and the students that we work hard to serve or accept terms that create a two-tiered system, whereby new faculty and staff, many of whom are burdened with crushing student debt of their own, are forced to accept salaries and benefits less than those of more senior members like me.
We invite you to join Sierra Club, Philadelphia Climate Works, Philadelphia Jobs With Justice, and other social justice advocates for a call-in and letter-writing social in support of CCP workers on Wednesday, April 3rd from 4 - 6 pm at Jobs With Justice’s office, 1515 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Let us know you're coming -- register here!
Can’t make the event? No problem! You can make a phone call to CCP President Generals (215-751-8028). Help us to send a message to the Community College of Philadelphia President Guy Generals that the Philadelphia community is behind AFT Local 2026’s fight for a fair contract.
Sample Phone Script: As a member of the greater Philadelphia community and supporter of public higher education, I urge you to genuinely negotiate with the union at CCP and stop stonewalling. The staff and faculty at Community College of Philadelphia are fighting for their right to a living wage, fair working hours and requirements, and affordable access to healthcare. Please negotiate fair contracts for your faculty and staff immediately and support the success and wellbeing of the CCP community.
Thank you for your support!
Margaret Stephens is a Sierra Club volunteer leader in Southeastern PA, a National Outings leader, a faculuty member of the Community College of Philadelphia, and a member of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2026.