CFA Steward, Health & Safety... and many updates!
Updates at King Hall; Invoking your Health & Safety Rights; Next Steps
CFA-LA moves in the direction to elect Steward
Join the CFA-LA Executive Board meeting this Thursday, March 28th from 3:15 to 4:30 PM. EBoard meetings are open to CFA-LA members. Not a member? Join today at www.calfac.org/join-cfa.
Meetings are held virtually every other week: https://calfac.zoom.us/j/92293148395?pwd=bjBzLzhMWjl3c3BTZHFYR2R6RVdndz09
Invoking your Health & Safety rights under our collective bargaining agreement
Dear Colleagues,
Many faculty (and staff) who work, teach, and have offices in King Hall are rightly concerned about matters of health and safety, given the revelation that both mold and asbestos are present in the building, which has not been thoroughly or transparently tested as of this message. Many of us are experiencing the toxic stress related to worrying about whether or not we, our colleagues, and our students are safe.
As faculty, we have a contractual right to a work environment that is healthy and safe. Article 37 of our collective bargaining agreement (found here: https://www.calfac.org/contract-2022-2025/#article-37) affords us the right to request a reassignment if we have reason to believe our working conditions are unsafe.
In the the faculty (Unit 3) collective bargaining agreement, the contract specifically, 37.7, states: "When a faculty unit employee believes in good faith that they are being required to work under unhealthy or unsafe conditions, they shall notify the appropriate administrator. The appropriate administrator shall investigate as soon as possible the alleged unhealthy or unsafe conditions and shall immediately communicate with the faculty unit employee in writing, as to the results of such an investigation and, if deemed necessary, the steps that shall be taken to correct the condition."
In the staff (Units 2, 5, 7 & 9) collective bargaining agreement, the contract specifically, 23.7 states: “When an employee in good faith believes that the employee is being required to work under unhealthy or unsafe conditions or without adequate safety equipment and clothing, the employee shall notify the Appropriate Administrator. The Appropriate Administrator shall investigate as soon as possible the alleged unhealthy or unsafe conditions, notify the Environmental Health and Safety Officer where appropriate, and shall immediately communicate with the employee as to the results of such an investigation and, if deemed necessary, the steps that shall be taken to correct the condition. If the unhealthy or unsafe condition is an imminent hazard, as defined by CAL/OSHA, in which there is a reasonable certainty that a hazardous condition could be expected to cause death or serious physical harm, the Appropriate Administrator shall respond as soon as possible.”
We encourage you to immediately request a reassignment (including a new classroom or remote teaching accommodation, a new office, lab, etc.) if you believe in good faith that being in King Hall may be endangering your health. Here is a link to a sample email you can use for guidance. The "appropriate administrator" is likely your dean.
If you are denied a reassignment, we will help you file a grievance. Email Molly Talcott (mtalcott@calfac.org) and Marcelle Alvarado (malvarado@calfac.org) for support on this. (You may also CC us on your written request for reassignment, if you prefer to do that.)
in solidarity!
CFA-LA
The fight for King Hall continues
We are looking to collect as much information directly from faculty health & safety as possible. Please take a moment to fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/n4A4VPwDMmhfgufZ8.
This form is for any and all Cal State LA employees and students to share their feedback and experiences regarding the unsafe learning and working conditions on our campus, specifically, Martin Luther King Memorial Hall. If you have any questions, please contact kinghallkills@gmail.com. Any and all identifiable information will be kept confidential.
Last week, President Eanes kept true to her promise and held a “Town Hall” on King Hall. At first, the town hall did not appear to be one, since the president stated early on that participants would not have an opportunity to ask questions or make any statements. Fortunately, after the President’s expert gave his (nearly) hour-long PowerPoint presentation on asbestos - how it is formed, created, manufactured and so on - some questions that were submitted by the deadline were answered by the expert and the Executive Director of the Risk Management & Environmental Health & Safety (RMEHS) Department, Nidavone Niravanh, and interim Provost, Amy Bippus, and the floor was open for questions and comments.
Students, staff and faculty alike shared their frustrations about working in King Hall and other dilapidated buildings on campus, like BIOS and Fine Arts, and questioned prioritizing the new administration building, or the new dorms that are not occupied at full capacity. King Hall has a point of interest by the Cal State LA administration and by the Chancellor’s Office since 2013, yet the campus community has seen no changes. Instead Cal State LA continues to spend public funds to patch-up and clean-up the building. When asked, “Would you work in King Hall?” President Eanes responded, “not at this time.”
The campus community shared moving testimony on what it’s been like to express their concerns over and over - in some cases for over 25 years - and still be ignored by the Cal State LA administration. There is no question that Eanes has inherited a terrible problem, but will she do right by the campus community or follow the advice of administrators that continue to ignore and make the problem worse? To date, Niravanh and Bippus claim the King Hall building is not dangerous enough - and learning and work operations can continue as normal.
CFA is part of the larger Labor Council on campus, made up of the union leadership on campus, including CSUEU Chapter 311 (staff union), the Teamsters 2010 (staff union), UAW (grad student union) and the APC (academic advisors). The Labor Council has requested a meeting with President Eanes, which is currently being scheduled.
More information on the expert, Howard B. Spielman, can be found here:
CV: https://healthscience.com/wp-content/uploads/HSPIELMAN_CV2020.pdf
Spielman’s licenses were expired and canceled - not once, but twice: https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2017/11/Ladera_Linda_Responsiveness_Summary_for_PE_Report.pdf
In short, what we know about the asbestos expert is that he is hired by corporations and large companies, and we can follow the money on Spielman.
Have you signed the petition against course cuts?
We are looking to collect nearly 1,000 signatures, but it cannot be done that without you. Please share and circulate this petition to any and all faculty: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2bbtpb8t8iHs6Evg3xcOQ1zlBYgzITnMgWX7zvdX2OCKo3A/viewform. If you would like someone to speak to your department or group, the Executive Board members are happy to meet you.
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