 |
|
Former CCA Presidents were brought together recently for a reunion of History Makers. They are (front row, from left) Carolyn Inmon, Mary Ann Pacheco, Kathy Dean Sproles and Rose Marie Buettler. (Back row, from left) Clair Parsch, John Schermerhorn, George Shaw, Lavier Lokke, Jim Thorpe and current President Ron Norton Reel. |
They looked nothing like Mother Jones or Harry Bridges, but the individuals assembled for the recent CCA History Makers Reunion were all union organizers in their own right, all played an important part in unionizing community college faculty in California.
Nine past CCA presidents as well as several former staff came to the CCA Winter Conference in Irvine at the invitation of Carolyn Inmon, a former CCA president herself who is chair of the CCA History Project. Some like George Shaw and his wife, Helen, came from British Columbia, Canada, while others arrived from Northern and Southern California.
Presidents and their terms of office included: George Shaw (1972-73); Lavier Lokke (1973-74); Jim Thorpe (1975-76); Rose Marie Buettler (1977-78);Clair Parsh (1989-93), John Schermerhorn (1978-79), Mary Ann Pacheco (1983-85), Kathy Dean Sproles (1993-97); Carolyn Inmon ((2005- 07); and current president Ron Norton Reel.
Meet and Confer
Some of the veterans remembered the Winton Act – when teachers were only allowed to “meet and confer” – while others worked for the passage of the Rodda Act, California’s landmark legislation that established collective bargaining for public employees. A few recalled the massive organizing effort that took place on community college campuses, while recent leaders spoke about AB 1725, the law that established shared governance between the administration and faculty.
Inmon has spent the past several months perusing old issues of The Advocate newspaper, and its predecessor, The Professor, in addition to following up on leads to track down some 30 former CCA leaders and staff. Her investigation resulted in the History Makers Reunion, where the former leaders swapped stories of their own, and also participated in videotaped interviews conducted by Reel. Inmon used the occasion herself to do more research, which included a two-hour interview with Lavier Lokke in the hotel lobby.
“I wasn’t going to let this opportunity get by me,” she said.
Collective bargaining begins
“I think it is extremely important for an organization to be aware of its history,” Inmon said. “This is especially so in CCA since our history encompasses the history of collective bargaining in higher education in California.”
Former CCA staffer Ed Romeo, recalled the years following the passage of the Winton Act in 1964 when chapters could only “meet and confer.”
“During the first 11 years, CCA dealt with non-bargaining issues. The units were more like teachers clubs… Benefits and working conditions were never discussed,” he said.
NEA Higher Education staff consultant Chris Maitland, a former philosophy professor who became an organizer for part-time faculty recalled the importance of the 1974 collective bargaining act.
“There was a revolution in organizing. We went from a social club to a union,” she said.
Rose Marie Buettler who was CCA president from 1977-78 remembered the ‘70s as an incredible time.
Important milestone
“We were going from campus to campus organizing members. It was a time when we were changing our image totally from being passive to ‘labor intensive,’ Beuttler said. “We also began getting women and minorities involved in committees. That was really an important milestone.”
Then came Proposition 13, which was passed by voters in 1978, forever changing education funding in the state.
“No one knew what to do. Our faculties were panicking,” said John Schermerhorn, who was president in 1978-79. “Our biggest accomplishment was that we kept CCA going.”
CCA has had many challenges and triumphs since then, many of which will be chronicled in a booklet and DVD that Inmon is preparing.