CFA Members Hold Lobby Days to Advocate for Budget, Bills
CFA members and interns with Students for Quality Education (SQE) met in Sacramento on March 17-18 to talk with state lawmakers about our legislative and budget priorities, rally for CSU funding, and hold a membership drive.
Loren Cannon, CFA Secretary and Cal Poly Humboldt lecturer, participated in the Lobby Days for the first time this year. He was passionate about advocating for CSU funding and Assembly Bill 1831, which would limit CSU executive compensation to 125% of the California governor’s salary.
“What we need to do is not only make sure the CSU is funded, but that money goes to educating our students,” Cannon said. “To give us a livable wage, supportive and just working conditions, for all CSU faculty.”
Cannon added that all California taxpayers should be concerned that their taxes are being spent funding luxurious management salaries, and that it’s fiscally irresponsible for campus presidents to be making more than the president of the United States. High executive salaries take classes away from faculty, Cannon said.
Other legislative priorities CFA members discussed with lawmakers and their staff included bills that would require the CSU to give notice before sharing personal information with the federal government and require the CSU to post professional contact information for members of the Board of Trustees. Participants also talked with legislators about bills regarding CSU presidential searches, addressing issues with AB 715, and protecting faculty from AI encroachments.
Additionally, CFA members, union siblings, and Assemblymember Mike Fong held a rally at the Sacramento State Capitol West Steps to support full higher education compact funding for the current fiscal year and 2026-2027.
Margarita Berta-Ávila, CFA president and Sacramento State professor, demanded that new funding for the CSU go toward funding the classroom, not the boardroom.
“We are united our labor siblings organizations today, we support with Assemblymember Fong, a labor champion, in asking for full compact funding for the CSU to ensure that we continue to invest in our students, our faculty, our staff, and our whole CSU community because we are the CSU and this is the People’s University,” Berta-Ávila said.
Fong, the chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, wrote a proposal for the state legislature to fully fund the higher education multi-year compact for the CSU. The higher education multi-year compact funding was established in 2022 by Governor Gavin Newsom and promised 5% annual base budget increases through 2026-27 for the CSU and UC systems aimed at improving student access, equity, and success.
“We know that when funding commitments are delayed, reduced, or deferred, it creates uncertainty for our institutions and makes it much more difficult for our campuses to plan and continue expanding access to higher education here in California,” Fong said. “Stable funding allows our campuses to hire and retain faculty, to expand course offerings, to strengthen academic programs, and to ensure that our students have the resources they need to graduate on time.”
Before the lobbying and rally, CFA members competed in a membership and organizing action by writing postcards to faculty. They asked colleagues to join our union and explained how we are fighting for better working conditions through our legislative actions.
CFA also hosted a Legislative Reception and honored three lawmakers with Legislator of the Year awards for their work advocating for public higher education: Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, Assemblymember José Luis Solache, and Assemblymember Sade Elhawary.
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