By Nick Pernisco
   
    As SMC entered the new academic year, part-timers knew we were facing unprecedented cuts. We cringed every time we’d hear of the latest state budget numbers. Cuts to education seemed to be a main focus for cost-saving (along with cuts to the prison system – how’s that for two groups that should never be lumped together?). We heard of other colleges canceling entire sessions and slashing jobs. Doomsday was upon us.
   
    Two months into the fall semester… and things don’t seem so terrible.

    Much of this has to do with our representation at the state level. The Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (or FACCC for short) has done quite a bit of battling in Sacramento so that we wouldn’t have to battle locally. They helped California colleges avoid cuts worse than they would have been without state-level lobbying. SMC is well represented in this organization – we have two full-time faculty on the board, and three part-time faculty  (including me) on committees.

    Locally, SMC has fared better than most other community colleges in the state. Yes, there have been cuts, and yes, part-timers were let go. But compared to how it could have been and how other local colleges have struggled, things are actually OK for us. We can attribute much of this to our strong union. The Faculty Association has fought for years to make part-time faculty jobs more secure. In fact, we probably have the most part-timer-friendly contract in the entire state, and this is all due to years of negotiation by our FA leadership. We also have a great working relationship with our board of trustees. Not many unions across the state can say that their leaders can call a trustee and that someone will answer, but we can.

    No one knows what the future holds. The budget could crumble again, and it may in fact happen this academic year. But part-timers can rest assured that both locally, and at the state level, there are people fighting on our behalf.