Professors marched in demand of a better contract regarding their pay at 2:30 p.m. March 22, in front of the Citrus College Administration Building.
James Swatzel, mathematics professor at Citrus, was the first one protesting on Foothill blvd.
“We are marching to demand respect for our contributions to this college, and to show the negotiating team we stand firmly behind them. Unity is our strength and power. Let’s show the district that we are listening,” Swatzel said.
Swatzel made posters for some of the professors to carry and brought a megaphone which he used to chant.
“They’re sitting on a $27 million reserve and all they can offer us is 2-1-1. That’s an insult,” Swatzel said during a Board of Trustees meeting on March 20.
The 2-1-1 concept is a raise proposed by the district which states that professors will get two percent the first year, one percent the next year and another one percent the year after that.
When Swatzel was president of the union in 2015 he marched with Glendora Unified School District in regards to this same issue. “The march in 2015 made a significant difference,” Swatzel said.
He said he hoped that this march would have the same effect.
During the Board of Trustees meeting on March 20, Lisa Telesca, english professor, said faculty members do more than what they are required. Telesca also said that some professors come in as early as 6 a.m. to tend to their students and much more.
“I really demand to be paid what we are all deserved,” Telesca said.
If all fails, Swatzel says that he will help the association as much as he can to make things right.
