Volume 45, Number 1 - November/December 2009
Excerpts from "History Makers"
In 1964, Sen. Winton was successful in passing legislation allowing "meet and confer." Under meet and confer, leaders dealt with non-bargaining issues such as insurance. Former staff member Ed Romeo described them as "teacher clubs."
There were no meaningful discussions of salary, working condition or grievance procedures and organizations were referred to as associations, never unions.
The failure of the Winton Act led to the Rodda Act, named for state Sen. Albert Rodda. "The essential part of the Rodda Act was that it put teachers on an equal basis with the board of trustees. Instead of meet and confer, it was now meet and negotiate," Romeo said.
Passed in 1975, the Rodda Act established:
- Collective bargaining for K-14 on salary and working conditions.
- The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
- Written contracts which were binding and enforceable.
Internally, in both CCA and CTA, there was a conflict over collective bargaining. CTA was reorganizing. Community college faculty fell into three groups: those eager and prepared to adopt collective bargaining; those unsure about collective bargaining; and the overwhelming majority that did not want to organize.
It was the job of leaders to convince faculty that their professionalism was not at stake as they joined the union and that everyone needed to join to have maximum power.
