I’m running for AFT chapter president for West Los Angeles College because I believe in the community and culture of this campus and I have a lifelong commitment to organized labor. Our campus has struggled to maintain a collegial relationship between the guild and our faculty community, and I know how to connect in ways that can heal those relationships so the guild and our shared governance can function collegially again. Moreover, Equity, empowerment, Inclusion, and diversity are the core of what I believe and the core of what I fight for. I believe the least empowered among us need the most support, and I will fight for that value with fierce determination. We are strongest when we work together with collegiality and cooperation. Even when members our or community have differing ideas, they are all served best when we genuinely connect and work to cooperate.

The Rift on Our Campus

When I came to West, our guild supported our faculty and worked with our faculty leaders to present a united and powerful front to fight for faculty-driven leadership and faculty rights. In the last several years that relationship has devolved. Conflicts between guild leadership and faculty leadership have sprung up, and it now thrives like a weed, to the detriment of our campus community, the good work of our campus’s shared governance committees and the guild itself. Neither the faculty on our campus nor the guild can function effectively until either the majority of the faculty leadership changes or a new chapter president steps in.

I believe it is time for that change, for a new chapter of healing. I have good relationships with faculty across our campus, and I have always had good relationships with the guild leaders of our campus (past and present) and others because even when I disagree  with a colleague, I interact with integrity and respect. I appreciate the faculty I work with and their accomplishments. I know that my fellow faculty are working for the good of the college and the good of our guild because they care deeply about them both. Guild rights are faculty rights, and faculty who are able to do the good work of supporting our students and our community are helping us all.

When I came to West ten years ago,  I was amazed by the cooperation and connection at this campus. I have spent most of my career working as adjunct faculty, and I have never encountered a more coherent and welcoming community. Yes, West had its issues, but when it came down to it, this college came together to stand for each other and to stand for each other and students. Sadly, that is not true anymore. Infighting between the guild president and campus faculty have created a rift that prevents either the guild or our shared governance committees from functioning effectively. Large portions of campus meetings have devolved into powerplays, in-fighting, and politics that do nothing for our campus or our guild. I fear both will be frozen in ineffectiveness unless we make a change soon.

I am that change. I will work with campus leaders and my friends who have been running the guild to open a new page on collegiality. We are bound by more than what divides us, and by negotiating for the better good rather than trying to force narrow outcomes for political gain, I will be able to demonstrate how I have earned my reputation as a diplomatic and inclusive leader, who knows how to make change through connection when possible and fight effectively and doggedly when not.

Change that Matters

One of my key strengths is my ability to uplift my colleagues. I know how to highlight the accomplishments of my team members when it matters. I’m also not afraid to let others shine. As AFT chapter president I ensure our Adjunct Faculty Action Committee representatives have the full support they need to truly empower the true adjuncts of our campus. I will empower and uplift these leaders, so they have the resources and the credit they deserve. I am not afraid one might outshine me, because if they do, then they are exactly what our college needs.

I will actively assist our CAT team. CAT is tasked with expanding our active union and recruiting members. Our guild is strongest when everyone participates. Rather than obstructing their efforts and taking credit for the recruitment the CAT team has done, I will fully support them and praise their accomplishments.