As State Center Community College District negotiates a project labor agreement with the Building Trades Council, two trustees — including Fresno City Council candidate Rob Fuentes — have insisted on inserting themselves in union negotiations.

Their actions defied legal advice from the district’s attorneys and are jeopardizing accreditation that allows students to use state and federal aid to attend classes.

Emails and official documents obtained by GV Wire detail concerns by district staff about board president Fuentes and fellow trustee Danielle Parra’s demands on being present for meetings between the Building Trades Council — a major donor to Fuentes’ political campaigns — and the district as they hash out their project labor agreement.

Fuentes confirmed to GV Wire that he was present for the Aug. 19 meeting but was only there to observe negotiations. He said as a member of the ad hoc committee, along with Parra and fellow trustee Magdalena Gomez, it is acceptable to be present for negotiations.

“I’m a part of the ad hoc committee that the board tasked with overseeing this negotiation process, so yes, I find it perfectly appropriate to observe the negotiation,” Fuentes said.

Parra did not respond to a call and a text requesting comment.

Fuentes Says PLA Isn’t Happening Fast Enough

District counsel disagreed with Fuentes that participation by a trustee in negotiations was appropriate.

Fuentes on Aug. 11 sent an email to top brass at the district saying that approval of the PLA was not happening fast enough and that because of that, he, Parra, and Gomez would attend the next meeting. He also said that if the PLA was not approved by October, the board would draft its own version of a PLA and place it on the agenda of the November board meeting.

The election for the Fresno City Council District 1 seat, for which Fuentes is a finalist, is Nov. 3.

In response to Fuentes’ email, the district held a meeting with the ad hoc committee on Aug. 17. Notes from that meeting detailed concerns from both administration and inside counsel about Fuentes and Parra’s insistence that they attend the meeting.

An Aug. 18 email from Vice Chancellor of Operations Christine Miktarian to Chancellor Carole Goldsmith, a day before the planned negotiation meeting, expressed Miktarian’s concern about Fuentes’ and Parra’s planned participation in the meeting.

Neither Miktarian nor Goldsmith replied to email requests for comment.

“Counsel expressed particular concern that trustee attendance at the negotiations meeting could create an accreditation issue or risk for the District,” Miktarian told Goldsmith. “Trustees Fuentes and Parra acknowledged legal counsel’s concern and stated that they still intend to attend the meeting on Wednesday. This is concerning.”

Both Fresno City College and Reedley College have follow-up review visits planned for the fall, according to a spokesperson with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Miktarian also warned Goldsmith about what appeared to her to be side negotiations between Fuentes and trades council executive director Chuck Riojas. In the email, Miktarian quoted Fuentes as offering to “have a side conversation with Chuck” to help expedite PLA negotiations.

“He also stated that he was ‘hearing things from the BTC’ relative to our negotiations,” Miktarian wrote.

Talks Between Fuentes and Trades Didn’t Include PLA Details: Riojas

The trades council has been a donor to Fuentes’ campaign. Both Riojas and Fuentes confirmed to GV Wire that they have met, but discussions have been about his city council campaign, not about the PLA.

Riojas said if the PLA came up discussions were broad and no details were shared.

“That belongs in negotiations,” Riojas said. “He asked how’s it going, I said, ‘It’s going fine.’ I’ve been through negotiations many, many times in my other jobs as well. It’s about the rules and etiquette in negotiations. You don’t bring them in-house, so to speak.”

Fuentes said the quote cited by Miktarian “does not come to mind.” Fuentes also said detailed discussions about the PLA did not occur in his meetings with Riojas.

“If it did, only in passing, like I said, we don’t negotiate out of the negotiation room, and as I said before, those negotiations are done between the administration and the Building and Trades Council, not myself and the trustees,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes, District Giving Conflicting Directions on PLA Priorities

Fuentes had asked about specific negotiating points that the trades council had been insistent on and spoke in a way prioritizing the trades council, Mektirian told Goldsmith.

“Trustee Fuentes confirmed the importance of local hire and graduates but said we needed to make sure we were not proposing language that is crossing a red-line for the BTC,” official meeting notes of the ad hoc trustees committee meeting from Aug. 17 stated. “He then mentioned Core Apprentices specifically and stated this was an item that crosses a red-line for the BTC and is never going to be agreed to so it is a waste of time to include it in the agreement.”

After the meeting, Shannon Robertson, a district director of facilities planning and construction, informed Mektirian of her concern that Fuentes had been to close to the trades council in negotiations.

Robertson said that Fuentes has “ongoing communication with the Building Trades Council, mainly Chuck Riojas, and they are communicating specific terms of the negotiations (Core apprentice discussion.”

Robertson then asked Mektirian whether she should follow administrative direction or trustee direction.

“Trustee Fuentes instructed us in the meeting to make sure we are not proposing language that is ‘crossing a red-line’ for the BTC and that it is a waste of time to include it in the agreement,” Robertson wrote. “Is this a directive from the trustee that I am now required to follow, even if it is not in alignment with the board goals and resolution? Please clarify.”

Fuentes said he would not discuss specific terms currently being negotiated. “I think that’d be inappropriate.”

An email request for comment to Robertson was not returned.

Fuentes Has Touted Union Support in City Council Campaigns

District counsel had expressed concern that Fuentes’ involvement in the PLA negotiations could threaten accreditation. More than 60% of students at Fresno City College students in general and 90% of freshmen receive financial aid, according to CollegeFactual.com. Losing accreditation could disqualify the State Center network from being eligible for federal or state aid.

District counsel Matt Besmer told trustees during the ad hoc meeting that the Accrediting Committee for Community and Junior Colleges “took issue” with another one of his clients for a similar issue.

In a response to GV Wire, the accreditation committee said that its standards do not evaluate a trustee’s conduct in isolation. Evaluation looks at the governing board’s ability to function effectively, adhere to its bylaws, and maintain clear policies on board ethics and conflicts of interest.

“A situation like this would typically be assessed in terms of whether board governance structures and delegation of authority were being followed, not as a judgement on one trustee’s decorum,” said Mac Powell, president of the ACCJC in a statement.

Community College of San Francisco is facing a pending loss of accreditation due to extensive problems cited by the ACCJC.

Fuentes has received tens of thousands of dollars from unions associated with the Building Trades Council.

On Sept. 17, Fuentes posted a $5,900 donation from the Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 246 to his city council campaign. The plumbers union is a part of the trades council. In June, Fuentes posted a $500 donation from the Sheet Workers 104, also a trades council affiliate.

In May, Fresno Laborers Local 294 gave Fuentes $5,900 for his campaign.

Fuentes said he’s received money from both unions and developers and he always prioritizes what’s best for the district.

“I’ve received campaign support from unions, I received campaign support from developers,” Fuentes said. “As a matter of fact, my opponents like to bash the support I received from developers, so pick your side. Either way, I am doing what I believe is in the best interest of the district, of our students, and of our community.”