January 22, 2020

Dear Faculty Colleagues:

          Welcome back to campus! I truly hope you had a restful and restorative winter break. As we enter the new academic term, it’s imperative that we continue to build a campus community predicated on high quality education, racial, gender, and economic justice, and labor dignity.

          I’d like to begin this welcome message by informing you about a number of upcoming events and workshops CFA-LA has planned for the Spring semester. Please take a moment to review this list, which provides you several opportunities to get involved with the union in the coming months:

1. Lecturers’ Council Meeting – Thursday, February 6th (2:00-3:30pm) U-SU San Gabriel Room 313

2. Bargaining Team Meeting – Monday, February 17th (12:00-1:45pm) Golden Eagle Ballroom 3

3. CFA-LA General Membership Meeting/SOS Town Hall – Wednesday, February 26th (3:00-5:00pm) U-SU San Gabriel Room 313

4. Writing a Rebuttal Workshop for RTP and Lecturer Evaluations – Tuesday, March 3rd (11:30am-2:00pm) – Golden Eagle Ballroom 1

5. Interrupting Racism Workshop (Council for Racial & Social Justice) – Friday, March 20th (11:00am-2:00pm) U-SU San Gabriel Room 313

6. Lecturers’ Council Meeting – Thursday, April 23rd (12:00-2:00pm) Golden Eagle Ballroom #3

7. Lecturers’ Unemployment Workshops – Tuesday, May 5th (12:00-1:30pm) U-SU Boardroom North 303B & Wednesday, May 6th, (6:00-9:00pm) Off-Site location TBA

8. End of the Year Celebration/Lecturer of the Year – Thursday, May 7th (3:00-6:00pm) University Club

          Even though the Fall was a time of transition and learning for our newly elected CFA-LA Executive Board, thanks to the support of long-term chapter activists, dozens of Department Representatives, and hundreds of engaged rank-and-file faculty members, we had a very productive and successful semester. For example, our chapter organized numerous campus events and interactive workshops intended to inform and empower faculty regarding our contractual rights, laid the groundwork for upcoming contract negotiations, and initiated our campus-based S.O.S. Campaign.

          One of the major initiatives we undertook in Fall was preparing for CFA’s return to the bargaining table this Spring. In September 2019, nearly 100 members attended Bargaining Team Meetings on campus where the CFA Bargaining Team presented an overview of the contract campaign and bargaining survey, while they heard from faculty about the issues that are of most concern to them. On February 17th of this semester, the Bargaining Team will be returning to campus to update us about the findings of the survey and to discuss how those findings will be utilized to formulate solid contract proposals. The precise time and location of this vital bargaining meeting are located in the list of events and workshops above.

          Speaking of the bargaining survey, I am pleased to announce that Cal State LA had the largest number of survey respondents of all the CSU campuses! Although there is much more work that we must do to get ready for the contract campaign ahead, this is a great indicator of the early engagement of the faculty on our campus. I am confident that, through the hard work of our Bargaining Team and with your active support, we will be able to win a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will include important improvements to our pay, benefits, and working conditions.

          While much of our attention this semester will be on mobilizing our colleagues for the upcoming contract campaign, there are several issues that we seek to resolve here at Cal State LA. As I previously mentioned, our chapter initiated the SOS Campaign (Sustaining Ourselves and Students) in the Fall in order to address excessive faculty workloads, pay inequities for both Full Professors and Lecturers, and the need for more mental health counselors on campus. To elevate the SOS Campaign to the next level, we are urging all faculty to sign onto this petition (bit.ly/SOSCampaignPetition), which calls upon administration to:

1. Provide funding for reassigned time to colleges and departments to reduce teaching loads for Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty (reducing to a 3×3) and Full-time Lecturer Faculty (reducing to a 4×4)

2. Fund an Equity Program for Full Professors and Lecturers

3. Hire an adequate number of mental health counselors (1 for every 1500 students) and convert current counselors to the tenure-track

          We are cognizant that it will take considerable effort on our part to convince campus administrators of the feasibility and necessity of these demands. However, we regard them to be reasonable and believe they’ll begin to ameliorate some of the workload and pay injustice issues we experience at Cal State LA. Furthermore, only when faculty organize together will we be able to sustain high quality education for our students and labor dignity for ourselves. Please sign onto the petition at your earliest convenience and make sure to share it with colleagues in your department.

          If you have any questions about bargaining, the petition, or the SOS Campaign in general, feel free to contact me at aratcliff@calfac.org. I’m excited to work with each of you in these CFA campaigns for a more just and equitable university.

In Solidarity,

Anthony Ratcliff, CFA-LA Chapter President, on behalf of the CFA-LA Executive Board

If you’re not a member, join here: (http://www.calfac.org/join-cfa) Your active membership in CFA strengthens our power at the bargaining table!

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