President's Message

Dear Colleagues,

It is with deep pride and a profound sense of responsibility and honor that I write to you as the president of the California Faculty Association. Welcome to our union. Whether you are a lecturer or tenure-line faculty member, counselor, librarian, or coach, you being here matters.

I first joined CFA in 2001. Like many of you, I was drawn to our labor union because I care deeply about my students, my colleagues, and the broader public mission of education. Grounded in social justice unionism, CFA gave me a venue to act on those values. Through CFA, I found a community rooted in the belief that our working conditions are inextricably linked to our students’ learning conditions. The fight for fair compensation, job security, just working conditions, and academic freedom is also a fight for access, equity, and justice in higher education. Our union also understands that the social and political issues affecting our communities are not separate from our academic mission. That’s why CFA organizes not only around labor rights, but also around the broader social conditions that affect us all.

My own path to CFA leadership has been shaped by my lived experience as a woman of color in higher education. I am cognizant of the CFA unionists that came before me, the struggles they endured, and the doors they tore down and broke through for me to be the first Xicana president of CFA. That is why, in spaces where our voices have historically been marginalized, CFA has been intentional about building power through inclusivity. So, we organize across our intersectional identities, ranks, and regions—recognizing that our strength is in our solidarity.

As a professor of teacher education at Sacramento State, I prepare students who will go on to teach in middle/high schools across California. For my students, teaching is a political act. It is a commitment to uplift their students and ensure they are centered in the curriculum they teach. I want them to enter a teaching field that respects their humanity and uplifts their labor. That’s what I fight for through CFA—and what I hope you will, too.

This is my second year as president of our union. Last year, we won a lot together, including suing management to help prevent the CSU from handing over personal information to federal agencies without alerting faculty and CFA leadership, successfully canvassing for the passage of Proposition 50, reclassifying 21 lecturers to tenure-track at CSU Long Beach, preventing program cuts at CSU Dominguez Hills, and restoring funding for the Sacramento State library.

Now, we are in full campaign mode for our next contract. We will fight and organize for our proposals, especially our core package on salary, workload, appointment, academic freedom, and AI. These chilling economic and political times demand that we build upon our previous wins, which include pay increases, expanded parental leave, enhanced rights for lecturers, and stronger workload protections. Together, we will take collective action and secure better working conditions and protections for all faculty.

If you’re not yet a CFA member, I hope you don’t just join CFA—I hope you find a place in it. Whether by serving on a committee, attending a campus action, or having a conversation with your chapter leadership—your voice matters. Your presence strengthens this union.

CFA is a place where we not only respond to challenges—we imagine and build for the future. We think about sustainability—not just in environmental terms, but in how we sustain ourselves, our profession, and our communities over the long term. We advocate for fair compensation, yes—but also for mental health, disability justice, racial healing, and the protection of public education as a common good.

So, again, thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing to be part of a union that does not separate labor from purpose, or justice from action. We win when we believe in each other. We win when we organize from a place of courage and care. And we win when we remember that this fight is about something greater than ourselves.

In community and solidarity,

Margarita Berta-Ávila
President, California Faculty Association
Professor of Education, College of Education
Sacramento State University