Dear Colleagues,
My name is Mike Javanmard, and I have been serving as an Economics Instructor at Rio Hondo College since 2006. I am honored to have been elected as your RHCFA President.
Upon my election last year, I reflected on the role of a union. Firstly, our primary objective is to safeguard our members. This is why we have established a grievance committee to ensure the enforcement of our collective bargaining agreement.
Secondly, we advocate for equitable salaries and benefits. Through our collective efforts, we have successfully secured a favorable contract.
Finally, this next year we will strengthen our membership and ensure that every faculty member understands that this association belongs to each and everyone of them. It is important to note that we operate as a team, utilizing the pronoun “we” to emphasize the collective nature of our endeavors.
I am pleased to introduce the dedicated leadership team that will support our initiatives this year:
* Jodi Senk - Vice-President
* Jeannie Liu - Treasurer
* Marie Eckstrom - Secretary and Chief Negotiator
* Diana Valladares - Former President
* Grant Tovmasian - Representative at Large and Grievance Chair
* Raquel Flores-Olson - Representative at Large
* Martha Carreon - Part-time Representative
* Vanessa Prieto - Part-time Representative
* Dorali Pichardo-Diaz - Membership Chair
* Connie Isais - Communications Chair
Best regards,
Mike Javanmard
RHCFA President
Economics Instructor, Rio Hondo College
Mike Javanmard
Jodi Senk
Jeannie Liu
Marie Eckstrom
Raquel Flores-Olson
Grant Tovmasian
Vanessa Prieto
Martha Carreon
Connie Isais
Grant Tovmasian
Marie Eckstrom
Dorali Pichardo-Diaz
Diana Valladares
Randa Wahbe
The Rio Hondo College Faculty Association is comprised of over 550 full-time and part-time faculty members. About 60% of the members are part-time faculty, ranging from those who teach several classes per term in Communications to hourly instructors who work only a single weekend day teaching a Public Safety class. Since we are involved with higher education, we are part of the Community College Association (CCA), a group representing about ten thousand college professors in California. In turn, CCA is part of the California Teachers Association (CTA) who serves about three hundred thousand educational professionals in the state. We are also part of the National Education Association (NEA) who represents three million members in the country.
The Rio Hondo College Faculty Association is an “agency-fee, wall-to-wall union.” This means that all faculty, both full- and part-time, who work at the college pay dues to the Association, whether they are members or not. Non-members can obtain a percentage of their yearly dues returned by completing the paperwork sent to them by CTA in the fall. Beyond this, there are no advantages to not being a member. There are, however, many benefits to being a member as described below.
Members are able to vote in officer elections and for ratification of negotiated agreements, receive benefits such as promotional items and meals at meetings, can run for Association offices, may attend Community College Association conferences, and have greater levels of paid representation in arbitrations with the District.
Since membership in RHCFA also confers membership in the California Teachers Association and National Education Association, members receive a whole slew of additional benefits which include the following:
The majority of your dues go to CTA who use the funds for membership benefits (which can be accessed here), advocacy, scholarships, and other purposes related to education. Some of your dues go to CCA and NEA who also provide services and benefits to faculty (NEA benefit information can be found here). A small portion of your dues are retained locally. Note that all faculty at Rio Hondo College pay the same dues, regardless of being a member or not. There is little benefit in not being a member. If you are unsure of your status or want to join, please contact us.