The dream of some has become a reality for many. Cerritos College teachers will vote this fall whether they want to unionize.

Over the last year, several teacher unions have been working to organize college faculty in order to cause a vote. Fifty percent, plus 1, signature’s from college faculty was needed and has been obtained.

When professor’s (full & part-time) vote this fall there will be only two options, representation by the American Federation of Teachers or no representation at all!

There is no third-party option this time around and according to some professor’s having only two options to choose from makes their decision a lot easier.

The election will take place between Oct. 15 and Nov. 5. It will be administered by the Public Employment Relations Board. Ballots will be mailed to faculties’ homes, and they must be completed in the same way an absentee ballot would be completed. This process will ensure confidentially.

For ballots to be counted, they must be received by PERB by Nov. 5.

Ballots will be counted at the Los Angeles PERB office at 1 p.m. on Nov.6.

Ballots will be sent to all faculty who had teaching assignments during the Fall term 2001, Spring 2002 and Summer 2002, including CalWorks instructors.

Whenever there is a decision that must be made, that centers on an issue, which will directly affect the livelihood of many, within a single institution, people are more likely to become emotionally involved.

“We need a legal position to argue from,” says theater instructor Robert Huber, who has been at Cerritos College since 1988.

Huber feels that it is about time that the professors at Cerritos College had something more formal to stand on.

Retirement is on the horizon for Huber, having only five years left; yet he remains compassionate about the professors who will be here after he is gone. “Potentially great part-timers are being turned away, not by the various hiring committees on campus but by the sure fact of knowing that there is no union on campus many will end up elsewhere.”

Yet, an issue of this scale is nothing new to the college landscape. Those who have been at the college for several years feel that by and large things have been going fairly well without a union therefore, what will be the need for one now?

A raise in teacher salary and good affordable health care-both of equal importance in any profession-have always has been negotiated openly through department spokesman to the administration of the College. However, this decision making process has always been done under no strict guidelines.

“Without a faculty union on campus there isn’t any written established way of negotiation for higher salary’s or better health care,” says English teacher David Fabish.

Fabish who sits on the salary committee plans to take a hard look at the pros & cons to having a teachers union before he votes this fall.

In years past things have always been done on a gentleman’s agreement. This way of doing business has never shamed anyone.

“Although this way of doing business has a up and down side, Fabish says. “Suppose a professor wants to do a special project whether it involved students are not communication would be between only the dean and the professor. They would both agree to terms, which they defined and are bounded only by the understanding of the conversation between the two of them.

“When there is the representation of a professor by a union, things are done in accordance to the union and communication is less between the professor who is actually seeking approval and more through union representatives in communication with the dean. We know all to well how words and their intended meaning, are often times lost in translation.”

Many professors and some counselors share the mentality of, if it isn’t broke then why fix it? Apparently this cavalier attitude has finally begun to wear thin in the minds of many. How else do you explain the achieving of the 50 percent, plus 1, signatures in favor of holding a campus wide vote among faculty-full & part-time?

Every professor and counselor interviewed for this article made a compelling argument for or against there being a union on campus. Surprisingly those who were labeled as being not for the union, such as President of the Faculty Senate Robert Chester, are not hard liners, to say the least.

One thing is for certain, there are a lot of part-timer professors on campus and Cerritos College does not have a good reputation for their treatment of part-time professors. Having a history of being treated poorly and having much to gain from a union, they have a prime opportunity to get some type of equal footing this upcoming fall.

Full-time professors may understand part-time professors’ reasoning, considering that a significant number of them were once part-time professors too. Part-time, with no benefits, required to have office hours that you are not paid for; working for as many institutions as your health can stand at one time just to put food on your table.

Fabish ended with saying, “I think that having a union will have little affect on teacher salary and health care. The Administration has always been quite fair and generous if I may say so.

“I mean sure part-time teachers would really benefit from a union but for those of us who have been here it’s like what can a union do for me that I can’t or haven’t already done for myself?”

Still, this member of the salary committee is willing to listen to the opinion of others.