How We Win

HOW IS A STRIKE CALLED OR CONCLUDED?

There are five stages to a potential strike at CCP: 

1. Strike Authorization Vote

 In our local, ahead of an actual strike, the bargaining teams will call on the union membership to authorize the teams to call a strike. This decision is made by a vote of the dues-paying membership through a secret ballot. A majority is needed to authorize the bargaining teams to call a strike, but it is important for every dues-paying member to cast a vote, as high turnout is essential to demonstrate union power. If the strike authorization vote passes, the Bargaining Teams are empowered to call a strike at any time based on what progress is or is not happening in bargaining. 

The Strike Authorization Vote will begin Monday, March 10 and continue through Saturday, March 16, with in-person and online voting options. The strike authorization vote does not initiate a strike or make a strike inevitable. It is to demonstrate that we as a union are fully prepared to take this step and to let the CCP administration know that as well. The Bargaining Teams determine if and when to call the strike. The strike is a:

2. Stoppage of Work

This is the actual strike itself, in which course instruction and job duties must cease in order for the strike to be effective. The strike’s power will then produce a:

3. Tentative Agreement (TA)

The next union contract, which both the union’s Bargaining Teams and College Administration’s negotiators have voted to approve. This can often happen quite quickly as a product of round-the-clock negotiations. The TA is subject to the membership’s:

4. Ratification

The dues-paying members then vote yes or no on the TA for their unit to approve or reject the contract, with a majority vote threshold. If the contract is approved, it goes into effect, retroactive to September 1, 2024. If it is rejected, the bargaining teams return to the table until another TA is reached and the membership votes again. A possible strike concludes with a:

5. Return to work and celebration

Union members will now return to work and back to their job duties. Note that the Bargaining Teams may ask members to return to work before ratification is completed. We will also celebrate what we win together.

WHAT WORK AT CCP STOPS DURING A STRIKE?

Simply put: 

ALL work done by faculty and staff stops during a strike. 

This includes:

• Engaging in any CCP work duties at the College or remotely. 

• Teaching a CCP course in a classroom, lab, or other space, on Zoom or asynchronously online.

• Issuing tests, exams, or other assignments for the purpose of assessment.

• Grading assignments or submitting grades through Banner or Canvas

• Using Canvas or any other CCP software for any reason beyond communicating with students about the status of the strike.

• Teaching another instructor’s course or grading their students’ assignments.

• Holding events or conferences on campus, or off-campus CCP events.

• Attending meetings related to CCP administrative work, teaching, and official duties.

• Holding office hours online or in-person.
  
  

Essential Labor Exceptions

We recognize that stopping certain work will primarily hurt individual members and students, which is not our goal. Accordingly, the following work is acceptable if there is an urgent deadline, although you should refrain from non-essential labor during the strike whenever possible. Essential labor might include: 

• Writing letters of recommendation for students or co-workers.

• Writing and filing essential reports with non-CCP institutions.

• Signing off on hiring forms for student workers, faculty and staff.

• Keeping plants or insects alive in science laboratories.
  
  

If you have more specific questions about what work at CCP stops during a strike, please email the union at aft2026@gmail.com for guidance. 

HOW WILL THE COLLEGE TRY TO STOP OR WEAKEN THE POWER OF A STRIKE?

The College may use a variety of tactics to try to break a strike and weaken our power to win stronger contracts, including refusing to pay us for the days we’re on strike and turning off our healthcare. 

STRIKE-BREAKING TACTICS: WHAT TO EXPECT

• Requiring employees to certify that they are working or on strike—these requests from management should be ignored.

• Framing the Union as unreasonable by stating that the College Administration has “no idea” why we are on strike.

• Lies to the effect that a “group” is going back to work tomorrow.

• Slander against Union leaders and against the integrity of the Union itself.

• Slander against fellow strikers aimed at causing dissension.

• Charges of violence on the part of strikers.

• Defeatism to the effect that the strike cannot be won, is failing, or isn’t worth the effort.

• False and misleading accounts in the press or on radio, TV, or the Internet.

• Offering extra pay to one group to “scab” or substitute for striking workers, such as offering extra pay to adjunct instructors to cover for striking full-time faculty –do not do this because it undermines the strength of the strike.