A Moment For Gratitude

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”
~ Pres. John F. Kennedy, 1963

We want to ensure that we are expressing gratitude to those who have given their time, effort, and energy to making our Capital Chapter and/or the CFA Union stronger. They fight tirelessly and selflessly in support of their fellow Unit 3 colleagues. They’ve earned the honor of being singled out for acknowledgement.

The first Moment of Gratitude goes to the many folks who’ve advocated for the CSU budget. We were able to pressure legislature so that the budget revise reduced the funding cuts to 3%, all thanks to the constant work of some bright stars from our Capital Chapter. That effort was led by our CFA Chapter’s Political Action & Legislation team, including:

• Andrea Terry
• Monicka Tutschka
• Jaime Jackson
• Nadine Braunstein
• Rachel Miller
• Danielle Duckett

These folks created a Budget Advocacy Toolkit, collected hundreds of letters and postcards from across campus, attended lobbying meetings, and delivered your voice to our legislature. You can read more about their efforts here.

Additionally, we need to include our amazing Field Representatives, Lenny Rizzuto and Ade Gutierrez-Diaz, for their involvement with our Joint Lobby Day, May Day Town Hall, and April Day of Higher Ed actions, and their overall leadership in organizing the Capital Chapter. We are on a stronger footing because of their presence.

You are inspirational to us all! You have shown the kind of work that is necessary to move the legislative needle in a more positive direction. There is clearly much more to do (Read more about the “CA Budget Battle” and “Keeping the Pressure Up”), but your presence in the CFA Office, out in the walkways of the library quad, and importantly, at the offices of legislators in the State Capital has given us an even firmer ground upon which to stand and fight.

Because of your actions, we were able to reach out to legislators directly and tell them our stories, to share with them the damage that could be wrought with their choice to still cut the 3% of our budget. Because of your actions, we can stand up to Chancellor Garcia and tell her that she and her minions are mismanaging our money, and we are not completely confident about her ability to lead us through this tumultuous time.

With their work well-documented, we’d like dedicate our first Moment for Gratitude to these people who offered up hours of their time before and after their classes, sacrificed time with family, and gave so much more than can truly be understood through words alone. Andrea, Monicka, Jaime, Nadine, Rachel, Danielle, Lenny, and Ade, we thank you for your leadership during our April-May push for legislative action. Your efforts in supporting all of us in Unit 3 set the standard for what fighting for our rights should look like!

Show up! Show out! Keep the pressure up!

Our sincerest and deepest appreciations,
Capital Chapter Executive Board

“A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is
expected.”
~ Anonymous

If you have someone or some group of people in mind that deserves some expression of gratitude for all their hard work, reach out and let us know (cpatterson@calfac.org).