City College of SF faculty plan 1-day strike amid salary dispute

Tim Killikelly, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, teaches a course on the politics of globalization at City College of San Francisco. “We don’t take this lightly,” he says of Wednesday’s strike. less Tim Killikelly, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, teaches a course on the politics of globalization at City College of San Francisco. “We don’t take this lightly,” he says of ... more Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close City College of SF faculty plan 1-day strike amid salary dispute 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A one-day labor strike by faculty at City College of San Francisco is set for Wednesday, the first day disabled students, veterans, and other high-risk students are supposed to register for fall classes and discuss special service options with counselors.

But the 50 or so counselors needed to help those students at 15 sites around the city will instead be on the picket line — or unwilling to cross it. So the priority, in-person registration for those students is canceled.

“We don’t take this lightly. But it’s gotten to the point where (the college’s) bad-faith bargaining has gotten so bad that you need to take action,” said Tim Killikelly, president of the union of 1,500 instructors, librarians and counselors who are demanding higher wages.

It’s the faculty who are negotiating in bad faith, said interim Chancellor Susan Lamb. “We’re trying to build enrollment back, and here we have a strike on the first day of registration,” she said, noting that faculty are walking off the job before a neutral fact-finding team has had a chance to evaluate the situation and make recommendations — a process just getting under way.

The dispute is over salary: Faculty and administrators agree that full-time instructors at City College earn less than those at most other community colleges. A 2015 salary survey shows that its most experienced faculty without a doctorate earn just under $92,000 a year — less than similar instructors earn at 67 of California’s 72 college districts. The least-experienced full-time faculty at City College earn $56,498 a year — less than those at 60 districts.

The faculty want a raise of 4 percent a year for three years, on top of cost-of-living increases and restoration of earlier cuts. They say the college is offering only short-term bonuses, not ongoing increases.

College administrators say they are offering a 9 percent raise over two years, which would cost $25 million. They say the faculty’s plan would cost $35 million.

“Their proposal bankrupts the college in three years,” Lamb said.

Accreditation troubles

“That’s flatly not true,” Killikelly countered, and suggested the college is hoarding money it could use for raises — 18.5 percent of City College’s budgeted expenses are being held in a reserve fund for emergencies, says a fiscal review released this month by the state’s independent Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team.

Yet the fiscal team reports that City College needs the hefty reserve because its long-term financial status is precarious. Four years ago, City College learned that its accreditation was in jeopardy over problems with fiscal management, governance and student services. Although the college has repaired many of its fiscal practices, the team says, the persistent threat to its accreditation has, ironically, led to financial troubles of a different kind.

Students have fled City College by the thousands. The school has hemorrhaged at least 10,000 full-time students since 2012, costing $4,700 each. Although California has given City College millions of dollars in “stabilization” funding, the law authorizing that cash sunsets in 2017 and is not expected to be renewed. This year, City College got an extra $44 million. Next year it will get $25 million. Then nothing.

‘Nobody wants a strike’

The college remains accredited, but the final determination is due in February. Without accreditation, City College would be forced to shut down. If it survives, college officials say it could take a decade to win back students to previous levels.

College officials cite these dangers as reasons for not offering higher raises. And they’ve been cutting about 400 classes a year — 5 percent — while trying to add popular police and fire training to attract more students.

Union President Killikelly calls the approach “doom and gloom” and said administrators need to stop it. “None of us completely knows what will happen,” he said.

Rafael Mandelman, president of the college’s Board of Trustees, said he’s torn on the issue.

“Nobody wants a strike,” he said. “But I support the right of labor to strike. Sometimes it’s the only way they say they can be heard. But if we do something that raises our faculty salaries more aggressively than what our administration is recommending, then I’d have to be confident that we can pay the bills going forward.”

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov