President's Message

Dear Colleagues,

It is with deep pride and a profound sense of responsibility and honor that I write to you as the new president of the California Faculty Association. This is my first message in this role, and I want to begin by saying—welcome. Whether you are a lecturer or tenure-line faculty member, a counselor, librarian, or coach, your being here matters.

I first joined CFA in 2001. Like many of you, I was drawn to our union because I care deeply about my students, my colleagues, and the broader public mission of education. Grounded in social justice unionism, CFA gave me a venue to act on those values. Through CFA, I found a community rooted in the belief that our working conditions are inextricably linked to our students’ learning conditions. That the fight for fair compensation, job security, just working conditions, and academic freedom is also a fight for access, equity, and justice in higher education. Our union also understands that the social and political issues affecting our communities—such as immigration, racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and the struggle to expand Ethnic Studies—are not separate from our academic mission. These realities impact our students’ lives and futures, and they shape the direction of our faculty’s work. That’s why CFA organizes not only around labor rights, but also around the broader social conditions that affect us all.

As a professor of teacher education at Sacramento State, I prepare students who will go on to teach in middle/high schools across California. Many are first-generation students of color. Like me, some learned English as a second language, while simultaneously receiving the message to assimilate. For my students, teaching is a political act. It is a commitment to uplift their students and ensure they are centered in the curriculum they teach. More importantly, that their student’s humanity is visible. They do this daily with brilliance, resilience and deep purpose. Similarly, I want them to enter a teaching field that respects their humanity and uplifts their labor. That’s what I fight for through CFA—and what I hope you will too.

Our union has secured tangible victories that benefit all faculty. These include salary increases, expanded parental leave, enhanced rights for lecturers, and stronger workload protections. But bargaining wins are only part of the story. CFA is also a force for anti-racism and social justice, working through our Council for Racial & Social Justice and our unionwide campaigns to challenge systemic inequities across the CSU system and beyond. This work is not symbolic—it is structural, ongoing, and grounded in action.

My own path to CFA leadership has been shaped by my lived experience as a woman of color in higher education. I am cognizant of CFA unionists that came before me, the struggles they endured, the doors they tore down and broke through for me to be the first Xicana president of CFA. That is why, in spaces where our voices have historically been marginalized, CFA has been intentional about building power through inclusivity. And so we organize across our lived intersectionality’s, rank, and region—recognizing that our strength is in our solidarity.

To new members: I hope you don’t just join CFA—I hope you find a place in it. Whether by serving on a committee, attending a campus action, or having a conversation with your chapter leadership—your voice matters. Your presence strengthens this union.

My own path to CFA leadership has been shaped by my lived experience as a woman of color in higher education. I am cognizant of CFA unionists that came before me, the struggles they endured, the doors they tore down and broke through for me to be the first Xicana president of CFA. That is why, in spaces where our voices have historically been marginalized, CFA has been intentional about building power through inclusivity. And so we organize across our lived intersectionality’s, rank, and region—recognizing that our strength is in our solidarity.

CFA is a place where we not only respond to challenges—we imagine and build. We think about sustainability—not just in environmental terms, but in how we sustain ourselves, our profession, and our communities over the long term. We advocate for fair compensation, yes—but also for mental health, disability justice, racial healing, and the protection of public education as a common good.

So, again, thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing to be part of a union that does not separate labor from purpose, or justice from action. We win when we believe in each other. We win when we organize from a place of courage and care. And we win when we remember that this fight is about something greater than ourselves.

In community and solidarity,

Margarita Berta-Ávila
President, California Faculty Association
Professor of Education, College of Education
Sacramento State University