The SCFA was founded in 1975 to give the faculty of the campus opportunities for negotiation with the university administration and lobbying at the state level that are not available to the Senate. Arising on most UC campuses around that same time, the various Faculty Associations joined together to form the Council of University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA). The associations foresaw a time when an act like HEERA (Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act) would legalize bargaining for university employees.
Led by Professor David Feller, Professor of Law at Boalt Hall of U.C. Berkeley, CUCFA played a large part in the design and passage of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) in 1978. That law constituted Senate faculty as a separate unit from other employees and specified that matters traditionally within the purview of the Senate (such as curriculum, hiring and promotion) should remain outside the scope of bargaining.
With the passage of HEERA, the rules of governance changed. Previously the administration had normally consulted the Senate on terms and conditions of employment (such as pay and benefits), although it had no obligation to do so. With the new law the administration was absolved of all responsibility to consult on such matters with any group except an elected exclusive representative.
In 1981, three campuses held elections to determine faculty representation for the purpose of bargaining with the administration: UCSC, UCB, and UCLA. At Santa Cruz the SCFA was elected as the local bargaining agent; at the other two campuses, the Senate faculty voted for no representation. Consequently, under HEERA of 1978 the Regents recognize the Santa Cruz Faculty Association as “the exclusive representative” of the employee unit made up of members of the Academic Senate on this campus. As a result, the administration is required to “meet and confer” with the SCFA on local issues. But we have a unique position in the UC system that is even more important. Because we are the only legal bargaining unit representing Senate Faculty in the U.C. system, the administration is required to “consult” with the SCFA also on matters of systemwide significance.
As a certified collective bargaining agent for senate faculty, the SCFA is the only such Faculty Association in the UC system that has the right to negotiate over local terms and conditions of employment. Moreover, the SCFA must be consulted over any systemwide change to faculty members’ employment conditions in the UC. The SCFA thereby invested the Senate faculty of the whole university with power, and benefits from the weight of the Council’s collective authority and from the expertise of its members, especially of faculty from the UC law schools.
In 2001, the SCFA affiliated with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for a two-year period which was indefinitely renewed by vote of the membership, effective January 1st, 2003.
As of 2012, we were no longer formally asssociated with AAUP. But, we continued to participate in broader movements to educate the public about the value of public higher education and the threats it faces today through our evolving partnership with CUCFA, AAUP, the California Faculty Association (of the CSUs) the national Campaign for the Future of Higher Education.
In 2015, CUCFA and AAUP agreed to form a partnership together as independent but allied entities. By partnering with AAUP, CUCFA will be better able to advance its goals in the defense and promotion of academic freedom, shared university governance, and the economic security of all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education. AAUP will also gain from the valuable experience and ideas of CUCFA’s members and leadership and from CUCFA’s promotion of these goals on the University of California’s ten campuses.
As a member of a UC Faculty Association, which is a chapter organization of CUCFA, you will now automatically enjoy a connection with AAUP through CUCFA. To receive the full rights and privileges of individual AAUP membership, however, you can, as a supplement to your campus Faculty Association membership, join AAUP at special rates.