Imagine Clackamas

by PTFA President Emeritus Tim Pantages

This year’s “theme” for the College, chosen by the Administration, is to remember what Clackamas used to be, and imagine what it can become now and in the future.

Remember what it used to be? Remember the “Clackamas Way”? It was a time when every constituency at Clackamas was respected and treated with respect: the community, the students, the classified staff, the Administration, full-time faculty, and part-time faculty.

Now imagine Clackamas the way it currently is:

• All other staff have an established process of evaluations and progressive discipline. Administration insists it can conduct “drive by” evaluations on part-time faculty whenever it wants and can fire us based on informal, unsigned student evaluations whenever it wants!
  
  
• Classified and full-time faculty remain recognized for continued service to the College. Administration wants to strip away current seniority rights for part-time faculty.
  
  
• Classified, full-time faculty, and Administrators have sick leave benefits that do not require a note from their doctor for illnesses lasting more than three working days. Administration apparently believes that part-time faculty cannot be trusted on this issue and want to institute doctor’s notes---to the one group at the College to whom health benefits are not given.
  
  
• Classified staff and full-time faculty have an established process for lay-offs. Administration insists it must add to our contract that we are hired and fired every term – even those of us who have been here for more the 10, more than 20 years!
  
  
• Classified and full-time work can’t be sub-contracted out to save the College money. Administration insists it can sub-contract out part-time faculty work and insists on adding language that says we can’t demand to bargain over it!
  
  

Imagine Clackamas in the future as the administration sees it!

Is that the Clackamas YOU want?