Union members protest college cuts

Dozens of protesters chanted and picketed Wednesday at Woodland Community College as the state California School Employees Association joined local union members to protest layoffs.

"We can't take the stress anymore," said Donna Veal-Spenser, local chapter president of the public employees union. "We needed the big guns to come."

The union is protesting the Yuba Community College District layoffs of 56 nonteaching staff including secretaries, groundskeepers and custodians. The Woodland campus is included in the Yuba district.

If the college district thinks it can operate with that many fewer staff, Veal-Spenser said, the school should try it.

"We can't be pushed anymore," she said. "We're done."

Allan Clark, state president of the San Jose-based union, said the board of trustees for the Linda-based college district won't stop union protests by meeting in Woodland.

"We're going to get in your face and make you do the right thing," Clark said.

"We're as much a part of the community as the people we serve," he added. "We're not going to let them forget that."

Adrian Lopez, spokesman for the Yuba College district, said the Woodland meeting was scheduled last December and trustees regularly hold meetings there.

Community colleges throughout California face cutbacks because of less funding from Sacramento, he said.

"This is statewide problem, not a district problem," Lopez said.

Community colleges, even amid budget reductions and fewer classes, are experiencing a 3 percent growth in enrollment, he said. "It's hard to find classes," Lopez said, "but nobody is being turned away."

"It's a tough situation," he said. "We're sympathetic to the fact these cuts are painful."

But, Lopez added, "at a time like this, we should pulling together."

Miriam Root, spokeswoman for Yuba College, said the school continues to accept new students.

"Anybody who has the ability to benefit is able to attend," Root said.

The union rally before the trustees meeting included mock gravestones depicting tutoring, staff, a library and students.

Contact Appeal reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmccarthy@appealdemocrat.com