More than 400 CFA members gathered for a Town Hall on September 29 to discuss dropping the two unfair labor practice charges (one from our bargaining team and management’s bargaining team) to try to resume bargaining sooner. Below is a modified version of a message the Bargaining Team wrote to members to provide an update and announce the Town Hall. 

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We filed a Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) charge against CSU management for refusing to bargain in good faith in April, when talks broke down. PERB has issued a complaint on the unfair labor practice charge. 

After much discussion last month, the Bargaining Team voted in favor of dropping one of the PERB charges pertaining to ground rules on open bargaining in favor of stronger charges, in the hopes that we can get back to the bargaining table sooner rather than wait for this particular charge to work its way through PERB, which could take several additional months. Management’s decision to leave the table was a delay tactic, and we have decided it is time to get them back to the negotiating process. 
 
The main goal of the team is to bargain for a fair contract that improves members’ terms and conditions of employment. And with that in mind, the team discussed and debated the legal strategy quite thoroughly and wrestled with several considerations in arriving at this decision. There are very serious issues in the CSU system now that put faculty and students at risk: 
 

  1. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has initiated a systemwide antisemitism complaint against the CSU and begun contacting some faculty and staff members to review allegations. The EEOC has also subpoenaed CSU Los Angeles to turn over personal phone numbers and email addresses for all employees. These developments follow the University of California giving the names of professors whom they deem controversial to federal authorities. Faculty around the country desire more academic freedom protections.
  2. CFA members and CSU students and their families are being targeted by ICE. And although Gov. Newsom just signed a bill to dissuade ICE from entering campuses, many of our members, their loved ones, and our communities are still at risk.
  3. The CSU Board of Trustees continues to approve large salary increases for CSU presidents, while not increasing resources for faculty and students. Faculty last saw a salary increase over a year ago, and in that period, inflation has continued to rise.
  4. The new $17 million AI Initiative was announced, and we want to be able to begin negotiations on this issue to protect faculty jobs and rights, and to ensure that student learning experiences remain unparalleled.
  5. Many campuses are really struggling. Despite positive developments through faculty budget advocacy, Sonoma State remains in a precarious position regarding the cancellation of athletic programs and departmental closures. The CSU San Bernardino campus’ Master of Science Physician Assistant (MSPA) program was denied accreditation. Enrollment is down significantly on many campuses, and schools are cutting staff and asking faculty to cover courses outside of their expertise.
  6. All of these things are happening while CSU management has refused to take a no-interest loan from the state to help manage these tough times. 
  7. Ultimately, the bargaining team and CFA’s Board of Directors want to be strategic and thoughtful about how we wage our fights and battles.

Incredibly dangerous developments outside the CSU system are also impacting our members:  

  1. We’re now living in a moment where people who dissent against White House policies and its ancillary influencers and organizations are harassed online and on campus. Right-wing organizations, with the help of their student campus activists, have mobilized against several CSU faculty, resulting in one colleague being placed on administrative leave for their safety and several others being harassed online for calling out white supremacist rhetoric. This is happening all over the country, and university administrators are largely capitulating, including settling legal challenges for large sums, conceding grant and research programs, and in some cases firing faculty in contravention of traditions of academic freedom.
  2. The Loyola Marymount University management in Los Angeles just announced that they will no longer recognize the faculty union. This unilateral challenge to an established faculty union is unprecedented and reflects the broader anti-union zeitgeist. 

So, a lot is at stake for our members, our students, and for our communities. We are under attack. Given the threats within CSU and our larger hostile political environment, the Bargaining Team and the Board of Directors feel it is best to get to the table to begin the hard work of fighting for the best contract to protect our members. 

Further, the cost of fighting management on the PERB charge related to non-team members would be expensive; we anticipate there will be other contractual issues that require union resources for legal support. To be best positioned for the fight ahead, the Bargaining Team and the Board of Directors feel it is prudent to take away management’s power to delay this process, and to reserve those resources to fight for the best contract in this very perilous moment for free speech, academic freedom, higher education, and the future of democracy. 

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