John Govsky
AFT 4400
Candidate for Member-at-Large Western
Candidate Statement
Hi, I'm John Govsky, a candidate for the Member at Large, Western Half position. I have taught as a part-timer for over 20 years at Cabrillo College, a community college in Santa Cruz County, California.
Locally, I am vice president of the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers and a member of our Faculty Senate. Statewide, I co-chair the Part-Time Faculty Committee of the California Federation of Teachers, and I am also a CFT vice
president. At the national level, I am one of the few part-timers on the AFT Higher Ed. Program and Policy Council.
I have worked tirelessly on the issues of part-time equity pay, increasing access to benefits, pushing for part-time faculty to have more leadership positions in governance (including in our own unions), negotiating pay for ancillary activities, and raising the legal cap on our workloads. I have helped to push CFT to support legislation on these issues for many years.
Insuring that part-timers get the unemployment benefits they deserve is a special concern of mine, and I created a website (contingentworld.com) which is used by many faculty throughout California who apply for unemployment.
I like to think of myself as a strategic thinker, as one who has both a long-term vision of part-timer equity as well as one who has the chops to effectively work on the nitty-gritty details to advance the cause in a practical way.
I look forward to using my skills to advance the goals of the caucus!