Hartnell instructors demand better working conditions

| YOUTH BEAT

Article and photos by Isaac González Díaz

Hartnell College Faculty Association members organized a rally at the Main Campus on Wednesday, October 25 to protest against working conditions for part-time teachers and to ask administrators for improvements.

“We want fair working conditions because they are student learning conditions,” said Senorina Vasquez, a math instructor and member of the College Faculty Association. “We want health care for part-time faculty; they don’t have health care. They deserve health care because they teach about 70% of our classes.

“We want smaller class sizes so that our students have a better environment to learn, and we want Lab/Lecture parity,” Vasquez said. “That means we want our lab instructors to be able to work the same amount of time as regular teachers, instead of overtime.”

The rally started at 9 a.m. while representatives of the teachers’ union and Hartnell administrators held a closed-door meeting. With the participation of a mediator, both sides tried to negotiate an agreement to improve the working conditions on the topics of wages, health care and time working.

Later, the union held two rallies around the main campus. Union leaders said the protests will continue until Hartnell administrators listen to the teachers’ demands.

Have something to say about this story? Send us a letter.

SUPPORT NONPROFIT JOURNALISM

GET OUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER