As we begin a new academic year, CFA faculty rights advocates are beginning to receive email inquiries about possible grievances, especially those linked to questions of entitlement and assignment of courses among Lecturers.  

Faculty wishing to file a grievance have seven weeks – totaling 49 calendar days – to file a grievance if we believe our workplace rights have been violated.  

But what does this mean, in practice? When does the 49-day clock start ticking? 

Article 10.4 in the Collective Bargaining Agreement  (AKA “the contract”) allows faculty to file a grievance no later than 49 calendar days after the event giving rise to the grievance, or 49 days after you knew or reasonably should have known of the event leading to the grievance. If, for example, your campus has hired a brand-new lecturer to teach a course you are qualified to teach, the 49-day clock begins on the day you learn that you were not offered the work in violation of Article 12.29.  

Taking this example further, you might contact your faculty rights advocates on campus, and they might issue an information request to management about the hiring practices in your department for that term. Sometimes, campus administration is slow to respond. 

Let’s say it takes a few weeks to receive the results of the information request, and you learn in Week 4 that, in fact, there was likely a violation of the preference for work order (12.29 in our CBA). Even if you were offered classes (in the form of your appointment letter) over the summer – more than 7 weeks ago – if the information request received in Week 4 produces results that lead you to learn that you, in fact, should have been offered a class or classes that went to a colleague below the preference for work order, your 49-day clock begins on the day you learn of this fact.  

However, with the volume of grievances against CSU management at an all-time high, and given that the CBA is a document where interpretations can vary between CFA and CSU management, attending to timeliness in the grievance process is really important. Management will try to get grievances dismissed on (un)timeliness grounds, so do be as punctual as possible if you do begin to suspect your contractual rights have been violated. Don’t wait to reach out. If there’s no violation, your advocates will advise you on this, and if there turns out to be a violation – it’s all the better to put the wheels in motion sooner than later.  

What if I know the 49-day clock is ticking, and I want to file a grievance, but I am afraid of upsetting my chair?  

While we as faculty encounter a variety of challenges, disputes, and interpersonal conflicts in our jobs, it is important to know that with regard to contractual grievances in which CFA represents a faculty member, the grievance is always filed against university management, and never against Unit 3 (faculty) employees, all of whom enjoy CFA’s duty of fair representation, including chairs. To return to the example above, should you decide to file a grievance around not being offered classes appropriately, we file your grievance against management, not against the department chair.  

Ultimately, in this case, the dean is responsible for approving schedules that align with the CBA. Even though your department chair may have built the course schedule, it is technically the dean (or their designee) who approves course schedules, and therefore your Article 12 grievance in that case would be against university management. 

What if I am having trouble with another faculty member? Does that count as a grievance? 

Our CFA Representation Policy, which is worth reading as a primer on our processes, states: 

“Except in extraordinary cases, CFA will not participate in grievances involving intra-faculty disputes unless the dispute involves the exercise of authority granted by contract or Administrative delegation.” 

If you are having difficulties involving another faculty colleague, you may be able to seek advice and support from CFA representatives about how to address it outside the grievance process. For example, a CFA member or representative can accompany you to a meeting with an administrator, where you might request that management support a mediation process or other type of support. However, the grievance process is reserved for cases in which CSU management has violated faculty rights. 

Once you believe your contractual rights might have been violated, do not wait! Contact your campus representative immediately. 

Want to learn more? Become active with your local CFA chapter Faculty Rights team. Find your representative here. 

  • Browse the faculty contract here. 
  • If you have questions about a faculty rights tip or would like to suggest a tip, please write us with the subject line “Faculty Rights Tip.” 
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