The Faculty Association and AAUP at UCLA
The UCLA Faculty Association represents UCLA faculty on employment and academic freedom issues and advocates for a vibrant and well-funded system of public higher education in California. Through our affiliation with the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA), we coordinate research and advocacy efforts with faculty on other UC campuses. As partners with the American Association of University Professors, we stand with faculty across the state and the country in defense of academic freedom and shared governance in higher education.
American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
The UCLA AAUP chapter seeks to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, post‐doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make its goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good. UCLA AAUP recently has worked to support lecturers in their ongoing contract negotiations with the university, graduate students who are asking for wage increases that would allow them to maintain even minimal standards of living, and professors whose right to determine course content has been challenged by department and university administrators.
Visit our JOIN page to register.
For news on faculty and university issues follow these pages:
On Twitter: @uclafa, @uc_faculty
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I join the Faculty Association?
The UCLA Faculty Association is a voluntary, dues-supported organization of UCLA faculty who are members of the Academic Senate. Dues are based on rank, and can be automatically deducted from your paycheck. Visit our JOIN page to register.
Why do we have a Faculty Association? Doesn’t the Academic Senate represent us?
The FA and the Senate have complementary roles. Under the California Higher Education Employment Relations Act (HEERA) of 1979, the authority of the Academic Senate is restricted to academic matters and the Senate is limited in its ability to address economic or employment interests of its faculty before the University or the Legislature or the Regents.
What does the FA do?
Since the 1970s the UCLA FA has been an important source of information about UC management activities, and a forum for gathering and expressing the opinions of faculty across the campus. Working independently and in concert with other UC faculty groups, the UCLA FA has addressed salary, pension, and health care issues, as well as calling attention to the inordinate growth of administration. As a member of the Council of University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA), the UCLA FA works with faculty on other UC campuses to share information and respond to system-wide concerns.
How can I get involved?
First, you can join the FA by filling out the form here. As a voluntary organization we rely on members to contribute their time and energy to the organization. One of the biggest challenges on a campus the size of UCLA is simply understanding the issues and concerns in various departments. Consider writing a report for our blog on the issues that concern you and your colleagues. Read the FA blog, check for periodic action items, and attend an event. If you’re feeling really ambitious, consider joining the Executive Board.
You can stay in touch with faculty issues through blogs like Rethinking the University edited by Michael Meranze (UCLA) and Chris Newfield (UCSB), Dan Mitchell’s UCLA FA Blog, the CUCFA News feed, and our own News page.
Is the FA trying to “unionize” faculty?
No, not at the moment. The HEERA gives California college and university employees the right to join (or not join) unions, and sets up procedures by which employees can select a representative organization through an election. If a majority of employees in a given category vote for the organization, it becomes the “bargaining agent” for those employees, and the employer is required to negotiate with it. The UCLA FA is not actively following this procedure.
So why bother having an Association? Why not act individually?
The Faculty Association is a protected “employee organization” under HEERA. “Employee organization” means any organization of any kind in which higher education employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with higher education employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of employees. As a “higher education employer” under HEERA, the Regents and UC managemet cannot impose or threaten to impose reprisals on employees, discriminate or threaten to discriminate against employees, or otherwise to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees because of their exercise of rights guaranteed by HEERA.