October 26, 2020

Colleagues,

I truly hope this email finds you safe and healthy. I’m writing to update you about an important position our chapter membership took at the most recent General Membership Town Hall held Wednesday, October 14. At the meeting, the members assembled passed a resolution creating an Ad-Hoc Committee to organize for Post-Election Contingencies (please read the resolution for more details). The resolution calls upon CFA-LA to strategize possible actions we will take if there are serious instances of voter intimidation and suppression, claims of victory without all votes being counted, or any attempts to circumvent the will of the electorate.

The CFA-LA Executive Board passed this resolution earlier in the week, and we thought this was an important issue to bring before the general membership. A similar resolution was also passed this past weekend at the CFA General Assembly. Even though CFA is a statewide faculty union that concentrates its political work and action on local and statewide initiatives and electoral campaigns, we are also a union committed to antiracism and social justice that stands firmly against all forms of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, economic exploitation, and any threats to our democratic system of governance.

As you know, less than two weeks are remaining until Election Day. Still, we hope that other faculty will recognize the urgency of this issue and support our CFA-LA Ad-Hoc Committee organizing efforts. If you’re able to help with pre-Nov. 3 organizing, social media messaging and communications (ongoing), planning a Town Hall/Teach-In, coordinating rapid response support between Nov 3-6, or helping to mobilize and marshal a CFA contingent at the November 7 day of action, you should complete this google form. Below, I provide more details about each of these organizing activities. If you have any questions, please contact me at aratcliff@calfac.org.

Organizing Timeline

Pre-Nov. 3 – Member Education & Mobilization

Nov. 3 – Election Night Watch & Social Media Blitz

Nov. 4 – Emergency Town Hall/Teach-In

Nov. 3-6 – Action Organizing & Rapid Response Support

Nov. 7 – Massive Rally in Downtown LA to Demand/Defend Democracy

Member Education, Mobilizing, and Social Media Messaging (Ongoing)

Over the next week and a half, we will be educating faculty about the current threats to democracy and why we must organize and mobilize to defend it. In addition to the links provided at the bottom of this email, we will also post daily organizing updates on our social media accounts. If you haven’t already, you should join our CFA-LA Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/calfac.la, where we will post most updates. You can also follow us on Instagram (@cfaforgela) and Twitter (@faculty_la) if you use either of these social media platforms. An essential objective of organizing is coherent messaging. Thus, a social media toolkit is currently being developed to focus our narrative on demanding the counting of all votes and the nonviolent protection of democracy.

Emergency Town Halls/Teach-Ins (Nov. 4)

We are also planning two Emergency Town Halls/Teach-Ins on Wednesday, November 4 (one at 10 am and one at 3 pm) for members of the Cal State LA faculty to discuss what impact the outcome of the election will have on our communities. We are scheduling this twice to accommodate those of you who may be teaching on Wednesday. Hopefully, you will be able to attend at least one of the Town Hall/Teach-In organizing events. These meeting spaces will help us determine what actions will be necessary to demand and defend democracy. A link to the meetings will be shared with you next week, along with additional information.

Rapid Response Coordination (Nov. 3-6)

While much of the time between Nov. 3-6 will be spent organizing for the massive day of action planned for Saturday, November 7, we realize that depending on the outcome of the election, there may be major protests before that date. We want to organize a team of faculty (the larger, the better) that can help provide rapid response coordination and support beginning on Election Day. If 2016 is any example, many students, faculty, and community members might be involved in protests throughout Los Angeles. Though most of the rapid response support will be done in conjunction with other organizations, it is still important that a faculty team is available to provide communication and ensure the safety and security of students and faculty who may decide to participate in any spontaneous or planned actions.

Demand Democracy Day of Action (Nov. 7)

Our Ad-Hoc Committee is also participating in the Demand Democracy coalition of local labor unions and community organizations that consists of UTLA, UNITE HERE, SEIU, UAW 2865, AFSMCE, CHIRLA, SURJ, and several others. Right now, the coalition is organizing a massive march and rally in Downtown Los Angeles scheduled for Saturday, November 7 (the exact time and location are still being worked out). We are urging all Cal State LA faculty and your family to participate in this day of action to demand and protect democracy. We will provide you more information about it when the details are finalized.

Articles on Post-Election Scenarios

Here are several sources that discuss potential scenarios that may occur during this election cycle. These are by no means exhaustive, but they do begin to paint a picture of some very concerning situations that could develop if we are not prepared.

Annie Applebaum, “The Election is In Danger: Prepare Now,” The Atlantic, 6 October 2020.

Barton Gellman, “The Election that Could Break America,” The Atlantic, November 2020.

Daniel Hunter, “10 Things You Need to Know to Stop a Coup,” Waging Nonviolence, 18 September 2020.

Barbara Medaloni, “Unions Are Beginning to Talk About Staving Off a Possible Coup,” Labor Notes, 15 October 2020.

RadioLab, “What If,” WNYC, 22 October 2020.

Joel Seldin, “Election Day Could Be Unlike Any Other in US History, Security Officials Say,” Voice of America News, 7 October 2020.

We hope the election will culminate without any major difficulties, and all this planning and organizing will be merely an exercise. However, as the saying goes, “if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.” We should proactively plan for possible contingencies now to protect democracy, instead of waiting until events are already unfolding to start organizing and mobilizing.

In Solidarity,

Anthony

On behalf of the Ad-Hoc Committee for Post-Election Contingencies