• SDI and Part-Time
  • Resources
  • Weingarten Rights
  • Testimonial
  • Part-Time Issues
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SDI and Part-Time Faculty

SDI covers both injuries and maternity leave. If you are unable to work for 8 consecutive days you may be eligible to receive State Disability Insurance benefits.

Why use SDI when I have sick leave with Sierra College?
If a Part-Time faculty qualifies for SDI they may choose to use SDI only, or use available Sierra College sick leave.
 
Keep in mind that unused Sick Leave is converted to hours worked when a PT faculty member retires. This conversion can make a significant difference in the monthly CalSTRS benefit.
 
Note: it is not required to use Sierra College sick leave first, or in  combination with SDI.

Why SDI?
The SCFA negotiations team recognized the need for Part-Time faculty to receive State Disability Insurance. An agreement was made with the District and ratified by the Part-Time faculty.
 

SDI is managed by the Employment Development Department. Learn more about SDI by visiting the SDI inks below.

About

Am I eligible?

Information tutorials

SDI online

Types of claims

Options: How to file a disability claim

Disability and Paid Family Leave

Eligibility

Part-Time, Intermittent, or Reduced Work Schedule

How to file for Disability Insurance
Sierra College Board of Trustees
Agendas, meeting dates, reports, minutes and more on the Sierra College website.   Consider attending a board meeting.
California Community College Chancellor's Office
The state entity that determines what does and doesn't happen in community colleges.

DataMart: get information on Retention/Success Rate, Student Success, College Wage Tracker, and more by State, District, or College.
California Part-time Faculty Association (CPFA)
Membership organization that promotes equity for CCC part-time faculty.   Publishes the CPFA News.
Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor
Working to improve higher education through the collective achievement of job reliability, livable wages, academic freedom,and more.
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC)
The statewide membership organization that lobbies for community colleges.
Legislative Information, California Codes
If you need to find a citation to anything within California law, this is the place to go.
Know Your Rights: The Weingarten Rules
By Jennifer Kattman, Dispute Resolution Officer
From the SCFA Newsletter, Fall 2011
 
Note: A portion of the following material was adapted from a Solano Faculty Association publication.

I wanted my first article as your full-time dispute resolution officer to outline the rights you have when it comes to any possible disciplinary action. It is of the utmost importance that you are aware of these before anything occurs, rather than trying to figure out your rights after any allegations have been brought or possible disciplinary action has been discussed by management. Understanding these rights will also help you better determine if and when you want to contact your SCFA dispute resolution officers for assistance.

The Weingarten rules were created by a landmark 1975 Supreme Court case that upheld employee rights in formal and informal disciplinary proceedings. To put it simply, the Weingarten rules protect the rights of unionized employees in disciplinary encounters with supervisors. The rules apply to any meeting between employee and manager, which the employee reasonably believes may lead to disciplinary action. Even exchanges between employee and manager that begin with routine matters may be subject to the Weingarten rules if the manager begins to ask hostile questions or begins a line of questioning that investigates possible employee wrongdoing or unsatisfactory job performance. 

What Rights Do You Have?

The Right to Representation
The first Weingarten rule is the right to union representation in all management interviews with employees that investigate employee wrongdoing or unsatisfactory performance and that the employee reasonably believes may lead to disciplinary action. However, an important point to keep in mind is that the Weingarten rules are not like the Miranda rules, which require the police to inform a suspect of his rights. A manager has no legal obligation to inform you of your Weingarten rights. The burden is on you, the employee, to explicitly request union representation.

The Right to Decline to Answer Questions
If the manager continues to ask you questions after you’ve invoked your right to union representation, you have the right to decline to answer until the union representative arrives. The trick, of course, is to keep your cool and decline to answer but do so in a firm but civil manner (this is very important).
Once you’ve requested representation, you can’t legally be disciplined for declining to answer questions without your union representative. If you’re called to a possible disciplinary meeting, you should attend, even without an assurance that your union representative will be present.

If your representative isn’t there when the manager begins any questioning, you should request that questioning be delayed until she/he arrives or ask that the meeting be rescheduled when all parties can attend.

Should management penalize you in some way for refusing to answer questions, you can grieve the action or file an unfair labor practice complaint with the California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB).

I strongly encourage you to keep a card handy in your wallet with the following statement printed on it in the event you find yourself in this situation.

“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I request that my union representative be present at this meeting. Until my union representative arrives, I respectfully choose not to participate in this discussion.”

If you become emotional and defensive, you will most likely make things much worse. When you invoke your right to representation, be certain to be explicit and direct.

The Right to Know the Nature of the Complaint
Under Weingarten, you and your representative have the right to know what alleged misconduct the manager is investigating. If your union representative is present, you may be considered "insubordinate" if you don't answer the questions a manager poses. However, before answering, you should check with your representative to make sure the questions are appropriate and legal. You are not obliged to answer "abusive, misleading, or harassing” questions.
Also, you should not answer questions if there is any chance that your alleged misconduct may be of a criminal nature. If you or your union representative believes that criminal charges are even a remote possibility, you should immediately contact CTA for legal representation and refuse to answer all questions until you receive legal advice. If there is any criminal conduct involved, you should not discuss your situation with anyone else, including your union representative, until you've had a chance to obtain advice from a lawyer.

The Right of Your Union Representative to Help You
Under the Weingarten rules, your union representative can:
  • witness what is said during the meeting and prevent or correct any later misrepresentations;
  • object to confusing, abusive, or misleading questions and any efforts to intimidate you (although the representative may not disrupt the manager’s questioning);
  • raise extenuating circumstances that may reduce the seriousness of or eliminate the complaint against you altogether;
  •  advise you against making “fatal admissions” or against denying everything and thus appearing guilty; and
  • counsel you against outbursts of temper and against informing on your colleagues.
Of course, invoking your right to union representation may increase the chances of resolving the dispute quickly. However, since management has no obligation to inform you of these rights, my strong message to you is that if you have any doubt about whether you should ask for union representation, that doubt probably means you should invoke your rights.

These rights were not simply granted by management; many people fought in our courts to win these rights for all of us. And your SCFA dispute resolution officers are here to ensure your rights are being respected.
Jennifer Kattman, you are a miracle worker. Thank you so much for stepping in on my behalf and working with my Dean to restore a class to me. My Dean called six days before my class was to start and said she needed to give it to a full-time instructor. Jennifer worked some magic and the Dean just called, restoring my class. Apparently changing an agreement with the union enabled the restoration. I have been a proud union member since day one and continue to recognize that without the union, we are just blowing in the wind. With the union, we have a voice and a place at the table.  Again, profound thanks. 
  • Load Limit
  • Equity
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Re-visiting the part-time load limit
Should the 67% part-time load limit be raised to 80%, 100%, abolished?  To learn why this matters view the video below.

Supporting the increase
The California Federation of Teachers (CFT) convention voted to raise part-time workload to 80%. Learn more.
What is your view? Take a survey.
Why is there a cap?
Originally capped at 60% the load was increased to 67% in 2007. Learn more.
How the other half lives
What's it like to be a part-time instructor in the Sacramento area? 
Read a Sacmag article on "Making a Makeshift Living"
Negotiations
Our SCFA Negotiations Team is passionate about equity for Part-Time faculty as seen in the SCFA contract. The team continues to advocate on behalf of our Part-Time faculty. Your support for their hard work is appreciated.