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Rio Hondo College Faculty Association
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Rio Hondo College Faculty Association
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  • Information
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  • Member Benefits
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  • Meeting Information

INFORMATION

President's Message Fall 2022

We are stronger together!

Dear Faculty,


Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! My name is Diana Valladares and I thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. Above this letter, you will see the names of your RHCFA executive team. I want to give a BIG shout out to all of them and thank them for joining me on this journey. We are excited to advocate for you and look forward to engaging with you throughout the year.


Recently, our RHCFA negotiations team worked very hard, putting in countless hours, to secure some great benefits for all of us. To highlight our most recent accomplishment, the RHCFA negotiations team just secured the following items for our 2022-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA):

  • 3 year combined COLA of 15.96% (projected: ‘22/’23 - 6.56%, ‘23/’24 - 5.38%, ‘24/’25 - 4.02%)
  • Jury Duty pay for up to 10 days (full-time) / 3 days (part-time)
  • Agreement that the District will apply for state funding for part-time office hours and negotiate how those funds will be utilized if granted
  • District covered health benefits up to the CalPERS Platinum level for full time faculty
  • District contribution of $90,000 per fiscal year to reimburse part-time unit members for health, dental, and vision insurance and services


As you discover the great benefits negotiated for both part- and full-time faculty, I hope you realize the importance of RHCFA membership. The work of advocating for members never ends. We will face further challenges as instructional delivery models continue to evolve in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we will continue to meet these challenges together. To do that, we encourage you to sign up as a member of the Rio Hondo College Faculty Association.


Please join us at our RHCFA meetings held the third Thursday of the month on the following dates for 2022-2023:

  • September 15 th from 12:45-2pm
  • October 20 th from 12:45-2pm
  • November 17 th from 12:45-2pm
  • February 16 th from 12:45-2pm
  • March 16 th from 12:45-2pm
  • April 20 th from 12:45-2pm


Lunch will be provided. The meeting will also be livestreamed for those who cannot make it in person. This is a great way to get to know your colleagues and your RHCFA representatives, your contract rights, and membership benefits.


RHCFA membership includes an alliance with CTA (California Teachers Association), NEA (National Education Association), and CCA (Community College Association). Scan the QR code for more benefits information.


Thank you for joining with us and have a great 2022-2023 academic year!


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​​​RHCFA 2022-2023 EXECUTIVE BOARD AND TEAM

President

Diana Valladares

Vice-President

Viviana Villanueva

Treasurer

Jeannie Liu  

Secretary

 Marie Eckstrom 

At-Large Representatives

Raquel Flores-Olsen

Grant Tovmasian

Part-Time Representatives

Martha Carreon

Connie Isais

Communications Chair

Claudia Rivas

Grievance Chairperson

Rudy Rios

Lead Negotiator

 Marie Eckstrom

Membership Chair

Dorali Pichardo-Diaz

Past President

Rudy Rios

CCA Board of Governors

Eric Kaljumägi

What is RHCFA?

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.

Member Benefits

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:

  • Discounts on travel, theme parks, and      entertainment venues
  • Discounts on auto purchases and rentals
  • Travel services
  • Financial services
  • Complimentary life insurance
  • $1 million Educators Employment liability insurance

Where do my dues go?

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.

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