An insurgent campaign to supplant Southwestern College's faculty union and slough off the California Teachers Association overwhelmingly failed in a vote tallied Nov. 6.
The Southwestern College Education Association (SCEA) received 431 votes, while the challenging union, the Independent Faculty Association, received 76 in the decertification vote conducted by the California Public Employee Relations Board. Faculty who wanted no representation cast 19 votes.
"We are thrilled to have won the representation election by such a large margin," said Janet Mazzarella, SCEA president. "Now that the election is over, we can return to our most important work as a union, representing and advancing the cause of our faculty."
Another battle looms for the SWC union. Now that faculty have chosen the SCEA to represent them, a second vote will settle the dust-up over mandatory dues.
Frank Paiano, SWC professor of business and information systems, said he and others have questioned the CTA's loyalty to community colleges for years, but it was a SCEA vote to require payment of union dues last spring that caused the group of faculty which calls itself the Freedom Fighters to start collecting signatures.
Paiano was part of a similar effort in the early 1990s, which ultimately ended the same. In that election, faculty voted in favor of SCEA, 291 to 106.
The union's mandatory payment policy is called "fair share" and it gives the faculty three choices:
• Pay union dues entirely.
• Pay union dues entirely and then be refunded money earmarked for CTA's political lobbying effort.
• Direct their money toward a designated major charity.
After the initiation of "fair share," freedom fighters collected 389 signatures, more than 30 percent of the college's instructional faculty, in about 12 months to force votes on decertification and mandatory union payments.
Paiano said he was "dismayed" over the decertification vote and hopes more people will vote against mandatory union payments. Part-time faculty had given him the impression they were unhappy with the situation, he said, and that they would cast their votes against SCEA when the time came.
"Our union dues are being used to work against the interest of community colleges and community college students," Paiano said. "They voted against themselves."
With mandatory union payments in place, SCEA will pay approximately $400,000 per year to its larger associated unions. The lion's share of this money will go to the Burlingame-based CTA.
Mazzarella admitted the CTA is primarily a K-12 union, but said that being second priority with the powerful CTA is better than being first priority with a smaller independent union. Mazzarella said that having the backing of state and national associations is important for professional support at the bargaining table and for clout in state politics.
Paiano said he was satisfied with his position and salary at SWC and that his campaign to overthrow "fair share" and to become independent of the CTA was to help the college's part-time faculty, who often teach at multiple colleges and pay multiple unions. He said the SCEA did little for part-timers.
Union members disagreed. Mazzarrella said the union had focused on hiking part-time wages. A union contract ratified last spring brought an unprecedented 11.53 percent salary increase.
Phil Lopez, SCEA grievance chairman, said he believed the overwhelming vote for the SCEA showed the faculty's confidence in the union. That only 19 ballots were cast for no representation showed the faculty's recognition of the power of collective bargaining and of a strong union, he said.
"People realize that we have a strong local track record," Lopez said. "And they also realize the importance of being connected with effective state-wide and national organizations."
In regards to the "fair share" vote due to be scheduled, he said that it would be inconsistent and illogical that faculty would vote for the SCEA and then not vote to support it.
"People won't buy Yugos," he said. "But they will spend their money on a Mercedes."
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