GREETINGS FROM AFT SEATTLE PRO STAFF PRESIDENT CODY HIATT
Well, we made it through 2020! Our democracy survived intact, effective charges for racial justice continue into 2021, and there’s a new Administration in the White House. Black Lives Matter is at last connecting more deeply with more Americans! Highest kudos to one in particular-- Stacey Abrams for her work in Georgia that delivered a Senate that stands a chance of passing an agenda supported by the majority of Americans.
And closer to home, Pro Staffers still need AFTSPS to safeguard our labor from the employer’s expediency, uphold the dignity of our work, and ensure that we receive good pay for good work. Here is a short list of what we’ve been doing, and our forecast for what must be done going foward…
At our Fall General membership meeting, we passed a medical hardship policy to help our fellows. We had masks made in a union shop, designed by our very own Pro Staff graphic designer, and distributed to members. We bargained, grieved, and resolved laundry we don't air.
In the middle of this dark Winter, ctcLink will upend and change how we do our very jobs. “Top down" management isn’t effective if you don't already know how transactions you perform in our Legacy (FMS/ SMS / FAM) systems will be performed in PeopeSoft. Sadly, it’s those who never touch our Legacy systems telling us what we need to know for our core functions.
Alternatively, our union advocates for a "bottom up" model that empowers staff, and actively takes the initiative in looking for ways to improve delivery of student success and operational excellence. If you haven't been told what ctcLink training to take, find out for yourself at www.seattlecolleges.edu/ctclink. At minimum, each of us must complete our timecards to get paid and that won't be in TLR anymore.
This Spring will be a season of growth and renewal. The fruits of our labor might not bloom in the same splendor under the harsh “weather” of COVID-19 or root as easily in the new “soil” of ctcLink. While fewer tall, non-fruit bearing “trees” may allow more sunlight to reach our middle management level, excessive heat may arrive this summer in the form of drops in State budgets and enrollments, which may in turn exacerbate the threat of seasonal “wildfiring.”
These are challenges we must meet as a unit because retreat is not a viable option when our students are counting on us for Fall. We want to still be here when vaccines roll out and we phase out of remote operations.
We hope, plan, and look forward to being able to elbow bump with you in person then!
In service and solidarity,
Cody Hiatt, President, AFT-SPS Local 6550
Please check out the rest of our Winter Quarter Newsletter for more on what's going on.
