CFA San José
Chapter

Get in Touch
Chapter Information
Chapter President: Ray Buyco
Lecturer Representative: Alicia Henderson
Faculty Rights Chair: Janet Stemwedel
Field Representative: Shamako Noble
Click here for Executive Board
Click here for San Jose State
Click here for CFA SJSU Page
Visit Us: Clark Hall 124 San Jose State University
Become A CFA Member
Join thousands of tenure-track faculty, lecturers, counselors, librarians, and coaches to protect academic freedom, faculty rights, safe workplaces, student learning, fair pay, nand fight for racial and social justice.
Alicia Henderson
Lecturer Representative
Chris Cox
Council for Racial & Social Justice Representative & Chapter CRSJ Committee Chair
Edgar Bering
Membership and Organizing Co-Chair
Janet Stemwedel
Vice President & Faculty Rights Committee Chair
Sabrina Pinnell
Secretary & Communications Committee Chair
Karin Jeffery
Treasurer & Membership and Organizing Co-Chair
Romey Sabalius
University Council of Chairs and Directors Representative
Kevin Moore
Assembly Delegates at-Large
William Armaline
Political Action & Legislative Committee Chair
Andrew Delunas
Assembly Delegates at-Large
CFA Chapter Announcements
Connect with your CFA Chapter!
TO: CFA Board of Directors, Chapter Presidents, Council for Racial and Social Justice, Council of Lecturers, Caucus Leaders, and Staff
This is urgent! AB 715 is a dangerous bill that is being rushed through the California Legislature. This bill would hurt teachers and threaten free speech and academic freedom.
This bill is being rushed through in the last moments of the legislative session. This legislation receives an INCOMPLETE grade.
The California Faculty Association, along with the California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, and other education unions, are working feverishly to block the last-ditch attempt by proponents of this bill.
Educators know that together we can create safe and inclusive learning environments for everyone!
Today marks the beginning of the last week of the legislative session for 2025. We have hours left to take action to STOP AB 715.
Please take 60 seconds to call Senate Pro-Tem Mike McGuire at 916-651-4002 and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas at 916-319-2029 to tell them to “Oppose AB 715!”





- 9/8 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for September 8, 2025: Union 101 and Lecturer Range Elevation Clinics this Week!
- 9/1 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for September 1, 2025: Lecturer Range Elevation Clinics this Week!
- 5/12 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for May 12, 2025: End-of-Semester Updates and Party
- 5/5 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for May 5, 2025: Recap of Emergency Bargaining Town Hall; End-of-Semester Updates
- 4/28 CFA-SJSU: CFA-SJSU Newsletter for April 28, 2025: CA Senate Bill 98; End-of-Semester Updates
- 4/21 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for April 21, 2025: Recap of April 17 Day of Action Rally
- 4/17 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for April 14, 2025: Join the National Day of Action on Thursday April 17!
- 4/7 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for April 7, 2025: Important Bargaining Updates; Upcoming National Day of Action
- 4/1 CFA-SJSU: Unionwide Townhall April 1st, Equity Paper Released, National Day of Action April 17th
- 3/24 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for March 24, 2025: Lecturers Council Meeting Thursday, March 27: “Is My Job in Danger?”
- 3/17 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for March 17, 2025: REMINDER: TUESDAY MARCH 18: General Membership Meeting & Important Bargaining Updates!
- 3/10 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for March 10, 2025: Save the Date: General Membership Meeting March 18!
- 3/3 CFA-SJSU Newsletter for March 3, 2025: “Dear Colleagues…”
- 2/24 CFA-SJSU Update: CSU Imposes More AI – What Does This Mean for Us?
- 2/17 CFA-SJSU Update: Help Us Help You – Join the Faculty Rights Committee!
- 2/10 CFA-SJSU Update: Fighting Forward: Sonoma State, Workshops and Opportunities for Service
- 2/3 CFA-SJSU Update: Save Sonoma State/First E-Board Meeting Tuesday 2/4, 12:00-1:30 pm
- 1/29 CFA-SJSU Announcement: Support Sonoma State
- 1/27 CFA-SJSU Update: Welcome (again) to Spring Semester!
- 1/23 CFA-SJSU Update: Welcome to Spring Semester!
- 12/9 CFA-SJSU Update: CFA Holiday Party; Request for Faculty Meeting Dates; Lecturer Council Vote
- 12/2 CFA-SJSU Update: Last E-Board Meeting of 2024; Results of Bargaining Representative Election; CFA Holiday Party; Request for Faculty Meeting Date
- 11/21 CFA-SJSU Membership Announcement: General Membership Meeting Nov 26 12-1:30pm MLK 225
- 11/11 CFA-SJSU Update: Bargaining Survey; Academic Senate Referendum; Membership Drive November 12th-13th; Lecturer Council Vote; General Membership Meeting
- 10/29 CFA-SJSU Update: Bargaining Survey; Lecturer Council on October 30th; U.S. Election Day is November 5th – VOTE!
- 10/21 CFA-SJSU Update: Bargaining Survey; Academic Senate Referenda Forthcoming; Lecturer Council on October 30th; U.S. Election Day is November 5th – VOTE!
- 10/14 CFA-SJSU Update: Next E-Board Meeting on October 15th; Bargaining Survey; Academic Senate Referenda Forthcoming
- 10/7 CFA-SJSU Update: Bargaining Survey; Second Unionwide TPM Town Hall
- 9/23 CFA-SJSU Update: Lecturer Nuts-n-Bolts; Lecturer Council; Newsletter Archive
- 9/16 CFA-SJSU Update: Next E-Board Meeting; Tabling at SJSU Votes Festival; Lecturer Nuts-n-Bolts Workshops; CFA Statewide TPM Town Hall; Lecturer Council Meeting
- 9/9 CFA-SJSU Update: Range Elevation Workshops; TPM Policy Changes
- 9/3 CFA-SJSU Update: First E-Board Meeting of the Semester; Range Elevation Workshops
We are calling for more volunteers to help support our committees including: Faculty Rights, Membership & Organizing, Communications, Political Action, Bylaws, Outreach, and general event support. Please fill out this form to express you interest or reach out directly to a committee chair.
The CFA Disaster Relief Fund FAQ can be found here: CFA Disaster Relief Fund FAQ.pdf
Please note that for the Los Angeles fires occurring in January 2025, eligibility is being extended to:
- All CFA active members including anyone who signed up for membership before the start of the fires.
- CFA’s SQE Interns
- CFA’s Chapter Office Managers
CFA full-time staff are also eligible for CFA’s Disaster Relief Fund. The process for submission is the same for all.
All applications are reviewed for membership and eligibility.
For any questions please email me, Parvinder, or membership@calfac.org.
Students for Quality Education
A student organizing body fighting for educational rights in collaboration with CFA.
Students for Quality Education (SQE) was formed in 2007-2008 by students in the California State University system to build the student movement for educational rights in public higher education. We were assisted in our efforts by the California Faculty Association and operate under its auspices. (Read more)
Campaigns/focuses:
- For the CSU to implement proactive and accessible decision making and funding transparency through policy led by students, faculty, and staff and with disclosure of all CSU investments
- Get gubernatorial candidates to commit to focusing on the CFA Master Plan or Higher Education and to have it part of their public platform for the 2026 gubernatorial election
- For the CSU to divest from occupation, the military industrial complex and policing and to reinvest in education and its own students/faculty/and staff
Membership & Organizing
The Membership & Organizing (M&O) Committee focuses on outreach, building connections, and uniting members of the CFA SJSU Chapter. They lead communication and strategy efforts through College and Department Representatives to keep members informed and engaged.
Faculty Rights
Please review the grievance forms and contact your CFA chapter office with any questions you may have about filing a grievance and further assistance.
Faculty Rights Chair-Janet Stemwedel
Faculty Rights Committee – Deanna Fassett
Chapter President – Ray Buyco
San Jose State Field Representative – Shamako Noble
CFA will help, but it is necessary that you choose the track, sign the grievance, file it on time and with the appropriate administrator, and provide the information necessary to understand and pursue a resolution of your problem.
These forms and resources will be helpful for anyone facing a grievance situation.
- Campus CFA Chapter Faculty Rights Representatives
- Lecturers’ Handbook
- Coaches Handbook
- Counselors Handbook
- Grievance Flow Chart
- Statutory Hearing Manual
- CFA Representation Policy
- EP&R 76-36: Faculty Workload Policies and Procedures This 1976 document is still relevant to faculty employment in the CSU today.
- App for Reporting Police Misconduct
- Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA)
- Unfair Practice Charge Information
- Employment Law fact sheets – click on “Employment”(these cover non-labor law topics like discrimination, family leave, unemployment benefits, etc.)
- Discrimination: While the Collective Bargaining Agreement has an anti-discrimination provision in Article 16, faculty are protected by federal and state laws. For more information, go to California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Also see:
- Interim CSU Nondiscrimination Policy, the CSU’s “Systemwide Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, Sexual Misconduct, Dating and Domestic Violence, and Stalking against Employees and Third Parties and Systemwide Procedure for Addressing Such Complaints by Employees and Third Parties.”
Do you want to support Faculty fighting for rights, justice and equity? Are you interested in or skilled in reading, interpreting and applying policy? Then consider joining our Faculty Rights Committee!!!
How much work would this be?
We’re working to build out the committee in order to make sure that none of its members need to take on a heavy burden, and to refine our mechanisms to ensure that collectively we’re staying on top of faculty requests for help, sharing essential information, and refining our strategies together. I can’t convert that to a firm hours/week ceiling, but I’m hopeful that it will end up averaging a few hours per week at most, and less than that most weeks.
What kind of work would this be?
The work of the FRC includes activities like:
-Helping other faculty members file grievances when they feel that they have been harmed by a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or of University policy
-Helping other faculty members to mount arguments for more equitable pay
-Helping other faculty members to frame rebuttals to RTP or other evaluations — or to craft their narratives for such evaluations in the context of the policies that are supposed to guide these evaluations
-Helping other faculty members (such as department chairs) understand the CBA and/or University policy to avoid accidentally creating grievable situations
Generally, this is work aimed at making our University function more fairly for the Unit 3 faculty it employs — whether or not those faculty are CFA members. A lot of it is one-on-one work, but if you enjoy giving workshops, there’s an opportunity to do some of that. Some of the work of the FRC is oriented around understanding the rules, but some of it is oriented around persuading the University to treat compliance with the CBA and policy as a floor, rather than a ceiling.
In addition to regular check-ins the rest of the campus FRC, our CFA Field Rep and the CFA statewide Faculty Rights folks will be a resource to help you learn how to do this important work.
I hope you’ll consider this invitation (and maybe even suggest a colleague or two you think might also be interested). Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions whose answers might make a difference to your decision!
Best,
Janet D. Stemwedel – Chair, Faculty Rights Committee (facrightschair.sj@calfac.org)
Shamako Noble – CFA SJSU Field Rep (snoble@calfac.org)




Campaigns and Issues
Austerity Cuts/Workload Campaigns
Academic Freedom and Shared Governance
CAPS not COPS
CALGET-C
Budget and Debt Campaign: Public University Education
Anti Racism and Social Justice
As a social justice union representing faculty in the California State University System, we are dedicated to anti-racism and social justice. We purposefully center and extend our anti-racism social justice work to address the structural racism that shapes our society and the CSU. Please refer to the CFA resources relevant to Anti Racism principles and reforms found HERE.
The Council for Racial & Social Justice promotes and supports anti-racism & social justice in the
CSU and CFA.
San José Representative – Chris Cox
Chapter Calendar
Follow your chapter’s upcoming events with its google calendar.
Lecturers’ Information
Lecturer Representative – Alicia Henderson (ahenderson@calfac.org)
Assembly Delegate at Large – Andrew DeLunas (adelunas@calfac.org)


Political Work
What Can International Students and Other Non-Citizens Do to Protect Themselves?
It is important to seek the advice of an immigration attorney, especially if workers believe that
they may be subject to “Catch and Revoke” because of previous protest activity that may be
visible in social media, news reports, etc. An attorney may advise that a habeas corpus petition
be prepared in advance of possible arrest and detention.
It is a good idea for workers to discuss the possibility of ICE arrest with trusted family, friends,
and union representatives in order to develop a plan for the best way that an attorney can be
contacted in the event of an ICE arrest.
It is crucial for an attorney to file a habeas corpus petition before workers are transported to
immigration detention facilities that are far away from the workers’ attorney and home. In
Mahmoud Khalil’s case, he was transferred to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana where legal
representation is difficult if not impossible.
See Full SEIU Guide for International and Other Non-Citizens Guide Here
Coming Soon…
Our chapter’s Political Action Chair is William Armaline (warmaline@cfa.org). Feel free to reach out regarding our chapter’s political values and activities.
Legalize Middle-Class Housing!
Greater San José has the highest housing prices in North America. The average one-family home here costs $1.9 million (fall 2024), about 5 times the U.S. average. Prices are more than double those of regions comparable to San José including greater Seattle (average $802,300) and greater Boston ($758,700).
The gap in rents is less. Seattle and Boston, like San José, have serious rental housing shortages. But San José rents are, in fact, higher than those in any other big metro area except San Francisco – 18% higher than Seattle’s. 22% of San José renters pay more than half their income for housing.
Section coming…
Community




SJSU Labor Council is a growing coalition of Labor Groups on campus at San Jose State. CFA is a proud partner. The coalition includes various Unions that make up much of the family of San Jose State.
UAW
I. Working Partnerships











Join California Faculty Association
Join thousands of instructional faculty, librarians, counselors, and coaches to protect academic freedom, faculty rights, safe workplaces, higher education, student learning, and fight for racial and social justice.