Running a MOC

During this academic year, CFT provided eleven Member Organizing Committee (MOC) grants to various locals throughout the state in order to support us with increasing membership and active member involvement. I was selected by CCFT to serve as the MOC organizer. The year began with attending a union organizing training for MOC/PLUCC grantees, along with Sadie Reynolds (our PLUCC), at CFT headquarters in Oakland. This was followed up with a second two-day training in February. These trainings provided a wider context for the work we do in our locals, specific ideas about how to approach our work, and opportunities to share ideas and solidarity with representatives from other locals.

The primary focus of our member organizing this academic year was to make personal contact with agency fee payers who are not actually CCFT members and encourage them to join the union. Several new members joined as a result of this effort, which was actively supported by numerous CCFT members, including several Council reps. In September, union members made up 88% of our bargaining unit, and we are now up to over 93% union members. (Final figures have yet to be reported.) Thank you all for your help!

The other major project I participated in was the Adjunct Survey, which was a large and highly successful undertaking. Sadie and I collaborated to create, distribute, promote and report on the survey. By the time we are finished, we will have reported our findings to CCFT Council, the Cabrillo College Governing Board, the Faculty Senate, and via email to all faculty and administrators. See Sadie’s detailed article and the link provided also in this Faculty Voice.

During the final part of the semester, I will be working on updating membership records and preparing a final report for the CFT that describes progress with the goals we identified at the beginning of the MOC project.

Through this MOC work and through work to support the passage of Prop 30, I enjoyed meaningful contacts with faculty from departments across our campus. This was richly rewarding. I made new personal connections with colleagues, learned more about who we are collectively and feel inspired about CCFT in new ways.

by Sharon Took-Zozaya