Support CCA Furloughed Staff Members!

On May 15, 2020, more than half of the unionized staff at California College of the Arts received a notice that they would be indefinitely furloughed. For 7 of our union siblings, this furlough has dragged out into an over 10-month ordeal, with minimal communication from the college. In this time, life goes on--folks have had children, had surgery, moved into new homes. Many of us are familiar with the hiccups and inconsistency in the unemployment system. While some of us may have been able to save up the extra pandemic unemployment payments over the summer, that money is running out. We can’t continue to wait around for politicians to do the right thing, and we certainly won’t hold our breath waiting for the administration of CCA to do the right thing--many of whom continue to take home enormous salaries. 

You may remember that when we started to organize for our union way back in 2018, we called our campaign ‘SF-Oak Unite.’ In that spirit, let’s come together to support our colleagues who remain on furlough. Many of these workers perform vital tasks for the college: maintaining and providing access to resources and equipment for students. For example, printing on campus has come to a near halt and specialized printers are in danger of being ruined. And, one of the many resources students can’t access is the Materials Library. The staff people who support these areas and resources are some of the workers who remain on furlough. 

We’ve been talking a lot lately about CCA’s finances, and the striking similarities between CCA’s financial situation  and that of some Bay Area colleges that are teetering on the brink of closure . The issue of workers furloughed for 10 months cannot be separated from the issue of CCA’s debt:endowment ratio and loan agreements the school’s administrators have agreed to. The fact is that the college has agreed that the bank will get paid first, before workers are brought back. 

While this fundraiser can’t make up for lost wages, we’d like to send an impactful sum to each furloughed worker, at least $500. That puts our goal at raising $3500. We can reach that goal easily if each bargaining unit worker donates $20-40! Pitch in what you can, and share this fundraiser with your coworkers to help us reach our goal and send some support to our furloughed friends!