California Faculty Association (CFA)

CFA aggressively promotes left-of-center sociopolitical principles throughout California’s state universities, encouraging its members to “intentionally center anti-racism and social justice — both lens and framework — in all that we do.” ^{1 5}

History

The California Faculty Association (CFA) is a labor union representing faculty of the California State University system. ¹ It claims roughly 29,000 professors, librarians, lecturers, coaches and other faculty professionals as members. ^{1 4}

Until 2019, the CFA was affiliated with the National Education Association and California Teachers Association. ³ That year, the CFA’s members voted to disaffiliate with the NEA after a contentious CTA leadership election reportedly widened rifts between K-12 educators and higher-education faculty. ³ The CFA then affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), becoming SEIU Local 1983. ^{2 3}

During an eight-month contract negotiation with the CSU system, the CFA called a strike on January 22, 2024. ⁶ The strike lasted just one day, after an agreement was reached between the two sides. While the union claimed victory, outside observers noted that the top-line five percent salary increase was notably lower than the 12 percent raise the union had been seeking. ^{6 7}

Advocacy

The California Faculty Association lists its key issues as “Anti-Racism and Social Justice;” academic freedom; addressing a claimed bias against “faculty who identify as women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color)” in student course evaluations; making California’s state universities tuition-free; expanding ethnic studies programs in the CSU system; and cutting university leadership and administrator pay and redistributing that funding to faculty members. ⁸

The CFA also promotes left-of-center views on environmental policy, and supports ending conventional fuel usage. ^{9 10}

It also supports mandatory non-COVID vaccinations for students in the California State University system. ¹¹

The CFA endorses candidates for elected office, and encourages its members to mobilize their families and friends through get-out-the-vote efforts. ¹²

Promotion of Left-Wing DEI Principles

The CFA describes itself as “an anti-racism, social justice union” and encourages its members to “intentionally center anti-racism and social justice—both lens and framework—in all that we do” and work diligently to promote those principles throughout the California State University system. ^{1 5} It operates a Council for Racial and Social Justice that “is committed to dismantling oppression based on Age, Ancestry, Caste, Color, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, Genetic Information, Marital Status, Medical Condition, Military Status, Nationality, Race, Religion, Religious Creed, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Sex Stereotype, and Veteran Status.”  ⁵

Anti-Israel Resolution

In April 2024, the CFA passed a resolution in support of Palestinians and denouncing Israel in the ongoing conflict between the two nations, accusing Israel of genocide, apartheid, war crimes, and other atrocities, arguing that Israel “does not enjoy the right to self defense.” ¹³ It called for the California State University system to allow pro-Palestinian protestors to create “sanctuary spaces” outside the university’s control for encampments and other protests, as well as undertake a number of other pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli actions. ¹³

The resolution tied the conflict between Israel and Palestine to the CFA’s broader efforts to oppose what it saw as racism in all its manifestations, “including but not limited to white supremacy and Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Orientalism, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, anti-Asian racism, anti-Arab racism, anti-Latinx racism, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia, and hostility to Palestine and to other indigenous peoples.” In addition, the resolution said, “Struggle against racism in all its manifestations must also involve confronting hetero-patriarchy, gendered violence, and ableism.” ¹³

Some CFA members publicly resigned from the union in protest of the resolution, saying that the CFA was not representing or supporting Jewish faculty members or students. ¹⁴