2 | NEWS
Vol. 173, Issue 6 | April. 11 – April 19
Fire contined from page 1
The ground floor of the training tower where breathing tanks, sheets of wood, ladders and fire extinguishers are store for City Colleges Fire Academy Students at John Adams Campus in San Francisco. Apr. 12. Andrew Segala/The Guardsman
NEWS BRIEF
CA Lawsuit By David Sharma
bethlynn2020@gmail.com “Pay equity for equal work,” was a phrase often repeated during a virtual news conference held by the California Teachers Association (CTA) announcing a class action lawsuit over minimum wage violations at Long Beach City College (LBCC) on April 4. Part-time teachers were not being compensated for the same work that they were putting in as their full-time counterparts. LBCC was at the forefront of accusations frm part-time teachers accusing the school of exploitation and no compensation. At the meeting, the CTA and the Community College Association represented two teachers who were not paid for their work outside of the classroom. Along with other Community Colleges, LBCC only paid parttime instructors for hours spent in the classroom and did not take into account the additional hours spent planning lectures, meeting with students, and reviewing and grading papers. Even though community colleges do not pay part-time teachers for time spent outside of the classroom, they evaluate them on their efforts outside of the classroom. CTA is currently co-sponsoring legislation which aims to compensate part-time employees fairly. This meeting was to raise awareness for a legislative bill, AB 1752, sponsored by Miguel Santiago, which aims to establish pay equity among faculties on all California community college campuses.
The City College fire engine stored in the new shed built for City Colleges Fire Academy at John Adams Campus in San Francisco. Apr. 12. Andrew Segala/The Guardsman
The top level of the training tower which is built to train students on conducting a rooftop rescue on a pointed roof along with confined spaces search and rescue. Apr. 12. Andrew Segala/The Guardsman
Staff Editor-in-Chief Casey Michie T: @jtwildfeuer
Editor-in-Chief JohnTaylor Wildfeuer T: @casey_michie
News Editor Emily Margaretten T: @e_margaretten
Culture Editor Julie Zigoris T: @jzigoris IG: @jusudra
The total cost of the training tower was $3.5 million with the funding coming from two sources, the Strong Workforce Program (SWP) and bond money through the dedicated efforts of Jim Connors and Fire Academy Instructor Jovon Blake. The funding for the training tower saw no complications, as the bond money was set aside for funded projects approved by the voters of San Francisco while SWP funds are through the state of California. SWP is a funding program by the California Community Colleges to help fund gaps in career education programs, which the Department of Administrative Justice and Fire Science qualifies under. The Fire Academy not only received a new training tower but also a large shed that stores a fire engine donated to City College by the Foster City Fire Department. In addition to storage, the shed also will provide extra privacy from the general public and reduce the chances of theft. When asked about the future of the training tower and what it brings for the department, the Dean of Administrative Justice and Fire Science Edith Kaeuper said, “We are thinking of having a disaster day were we have the LVN’s, RN’s, medical assistants and everybody come out and deal with a disaster we stage.” Having interoperable training events with various departments is being considered for the new training tower to show how students from the Fire Academy, EMS, Nursing, and Police programs can work together. Kaeuper also said, “Have all my first responder departments go out and deal with a situation we make up, its going to take some time to get there, because first we have to get everyone trained on how to use it [the training tower] and come up with a scenario, and involve other departments in putting a scenario together.” Connors also said, “Facilitywise our faculty is excited, we did a two day training exercise in January and when the faculty went through it, they all appreciated the fact they got hands-on training and understood how the structure works so we are all excited about this. It’s a tremendous step forward.” The training tower is being used in a limited capacity until its full completion in May 2022. The department expects to use the training tower at full capacity by Fall 2022.
Opinion Editor Skylar Wildfeuer
Layout Editors Skylar Wildfeuer
Photography Editors Bob Kinoshita
Illustrators Sarah Clayson
Sports Editor Seamus Geoghegan
Lauren Murphy
Janna Velasquez
Yuchen Xiao
Social Media Editor Derek Chartrand Wallace
Onyx Hunter
T: @seamoose415
Illustration Editor Max Hollinger
Chief Copy Editor Colton Webster