FAQs

Why are we forming a union?

Though different hopes and concerns inspire our call for change, we are united under the

following principles:

A union contract directly involves ranked faculty in decision making at the College. The best decisions come from a fair, transparent, and collaborative process. As educators, we need the power to help our students succeed and help the College respond wisely to the challenges and opportunities we face as a learning community. Creative collaboration on the vision of our College for the future Institutions of higher education across the country are having to pivot and think creatively about the future of higher education. As artists, designers and creative thinkers who are invested in the success of our College, we want to have an active role that ensures the future success of CCA. Through a union we’ll have a real seat at the table to help shape the future of the College for years to come.

How will this affect our students?

A major reason we are organizing our union is for our students’ benefit. If all ranked faculty have a voice in decision making, are fairly compensated and have job security, then we can provide a better learning environment for our students, including their daily experience. We have seen colleagues leave or get pushed out due to the high cost of living in the Bay Area, the lack of shared governance, and job instability. This has caused key programs to be truncated, sunsetted or closed which has ripple effects across all programs. As we move forward, faculty voice and power will be crucial in order to ensure the health of our college for years to come.

What is CFT and why are we organizing with them?

The California Federation of Teachers (CFT) is the statewide union of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). CFT is made up of 130 local education unions, in the public and private sector, throughout the state. Most notably CFT represents lecturers and librarians in the University of California system and private sector higher education faculty at institutions such as University of San Francisco, Dominican University, and most recently at the ArtCenter College of Design. We reached out to CFT because of their deep knowledge of education and their affiliation with AFT and the AAUP, the American Association of University Professors. By being a part of these organizations we can get the support we need to advocate for ourselves and our students at our college, in the state and nationally.

What’s the difference between the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the American

Association of University Professors (AAUP)?

CFT is the California statewide union of the 1.7 million members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In 2022, after a successful 15-year organizing partnership that won collective bargaining for over 17,000 faculty across the nation, AAUP nationally became an affiliate of the AFT. This partnership has helped established AAUP chapters seek and win the ability to collectively bargain, like at Miami University in Ohio this past May, with more chapters joining with state-wide unions like CFT to win the right to bargain.

Have faculty at other AICAD colleges organized?

Absolutely! The unions at our peer institutions prove that when faculty stand together, change is possible. Below is a list of other private art and design institutions, and some public higher education institutions with strong arts programs, that have unionized to improve their employment conditions and make their colleges better.

● ArtCenter College of Art and Design (CFT Local): http://artcenterfacultyfederation.com/

● University of the Arts, Philadelphia, (AFT local): https://www.uartsunion.org/

● Cal Arts: https://calartsvote.tumblr.com/

● Rhode Island School of Design (full-time):

https://www.facebook.com/RISDFullTimeFacultyAssociation/

● MICA: https://www.seiu500.org/mica-ft-faqs

● Emily Carr University: https://ecufa.ca/

● Mass College of Art: https://mscaunion.org/massachusetts-college-of-art/

● Pratt College of Art and Design: https://www.pratt-union.org/

● Otis College of Art and Design: https://www.facebook.com/OtisAdjunctAction/

● OCAD University: https://ocadfa.ca/

● VCU (not AICAD): https://ucwva.org/

● Cornish College of the Arts: https://cornishft.wa.aft.org/

We have a faculty handbook, so why do we need a collective bargaining agreement?

A collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, is a legally binding document that is negotiated by the employer and the union representing faculty covered by the agreement. CBAs usually cover things like wages, benefits, working conditions. If either party wants to make changes to the CBA they can do so by negotiating those changes. While the faculty handbook sometimes has faculty input, it’s solely advisory. CCA has made changes to our wages, benefits and working conditions including reducing our retirement benefits, moving campus, changing schedules, removing professional development support, and reducing the security guards on campus that can lead to safety issues for ourselves and our students. If we have a CBA they would have had to negotiate with us on many of those changes before moving forward.


Why are we requesting voluntary recognition with majority verification?

Private sector employer unionization is governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and is under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The process requires faculty signing union authorization cards. A union authorization card simply states that we want a specific union to represent us with respect to wages, hours and working conditions. The union is then required to request voluntary recognition. When voluntary recognition is requested, the employer has the opportunity to recognize our union by agreeing to having a neutral third party verify that a majority of faculty have signed authorization cards.

This process of voluntary recognition is similar to the “card check” process that the California Public Employment Relation Board uses for unionization efforts for faculty at public colleges and universities in our state.

Recent examples of card check at private colleges and universities are Brown University and Georgetown University who both voluntarily recognized their graduate student employees union through a majority card verification process.

This process is less litigious, less costly, and more collaborative in nature than the NLRB election process which often includes hearings and lengthy legal challenges and appeals. Our hope is that CCA administration will accept our request rather than going through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process.

Once our union is recognized, CCA will then be required to begin negotiating with us for our first Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Are we joining an existing union or creating our own union?

We are creating a new local union within the California Federation of Teachers (CFT). CFT will provide us with expertise, resources, and logistical support to help us win union recognition, negotiate our first contract, establish our union structure, provide training on contract enforcement, and anything else we may need to run a democratic representative union. We, the ranked faculty at CCA, are the union and we’ll get the guidance and support from CFT to help us achieve the changes we need.

Can CCA retaliate against me for organizing?

It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee in any way for participating in union organizing. In the rare event that this does happen, CFT staff, and legal team will advocate for any ranked faculty member who is retaliated against for actively participating in organizing a union.


Who is included in the union?

We know we are stronger together, so we will include all ranked faculty in our union petition.


How will the roles of the Senate Executive Committee and union interact?

Many colleagues who support our union effort have served or are currently serving on Senate committees. It’s meaningful work, and having a union, along with a collective bargaining agreement, can make governance stronger. Ultimately, this relationship will be determined by us. Most of the colleges listed above have both a senate and a union, and we will explore all relevant models as a guide for our work going forward.

How much are dues?

Generally, most CFT locals set their dues at 1.5%- 2.0% of a member’s gross pay. CFT dues are

part of the unions constitution and by-laws that will be voted on by members. Dues go into supporting our local union, as well as advocacy around key educational issues in California and nationally. Unless we choose otherwise, we do not pay dues until we win a first contract. A 2018 study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center found that in California, union workers earn about 12.9% more than non-union workers. Unions are about empowering employees and improving working conditions, and salary gains are often a part of that.

Can you be a member of multiple unions at one time?

Yes, you can be part of multiple unions, it all depends on your employer and the industry you are in.


Does union membership preclude you from accessing Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

No, CFT actually offers Student Debt Clinics to support members in navigating their student debt. Through their affiliation with AFT, they have been able to lobby for changes that make forgiveness available for more and more people across the country. As members, we would have access to an online platform called SUMMER, for free, to help us navigate student debt.


Will unionizing endanger our current benefits?

A union protects benefits, it doesn’t endanger them. Benefits such as healthcare, retirement, and sabbaticals are cornerstones of higher education collective bargaining agreements, which are binding legal contracts that we, as a union, will negotiate with our employer. As a union, we will have the ability to bargain not just to maintain benefits, but to improve them as well. Right now, the administration has the unilateral ability to change benefits at their whim. When we have a union, the administration won’t be able to change or reduce benefits without negotiating with us. That doesn’t mean that CCA can’t make improvements while we are in negotiations– we would be happy to discuss those improvements, but it means that they can’t

make any unilateral changes without negotiating with us.


Once we win union recognition, what will we be negotiating?

We will collectively decide what our bargaining priorities will be and who, amongst our ranked faculty, will represent us in negotiations with CCA along with a representative from CFT. All ranked faculty will be able to provide input, be kept updated on what’s going on at the table, and join with us to secure our first contract. Union members will also vote to ratify our contract once the bargaining team reaches a Tentative Agreement. CFT, AFT, and AAUP staff and leaders will help provide the experience and support in researching, developing proposals, and organizing, but it's up to us as a group to figure out what is important to us to achieve in a first contract.


Will we be able to address the different needs of the different types of faculty designations?

There will be room for addressing different needs for different groups, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. As a union, we decide on this collectively. Unionizing sets the floor for faculty working conditions. We want to legally protect and codify the good things we already have, in order to maintain those practices regardless of who is in charge, while making changes in other areas to best support ranked faculty and students.


I have a question - who can I ask in confidence?

We would love to answer questions and discuss next steps with any ranked faculty member who is interested. Please reach out to any Organizing Committee member. We’d be happy to talk.


What might we expect from CCA administration?

Administrations can react to unionization efforts in many ways. Our hope is that CCA administration will respect our collective decision and voluntarily recognize our union. Our preference is to work collaboratively with the administration to develop shared solutions to ensure CCA sustainability for faculty and the greater college community, including our students.


Can employers oppose unionization?

Unfortunately, many employers choose to fight unionization. Rather than embracing collaboration through collective bargaining, some want to continue to make decisions unilaterally. Employers who oppose unions often use an anti-union playbook that focuses on creating a climate of confusion, fear, futility, uncertainty, and division (FUD).

Some of the ways employers do this is to say things like:

“Now’s not the right time”

“A union is a third party- coming between us vs the direct relationship we have now”

“There is no guarantee that you’ll make improvements.”

“You could win - you could lose”

“You can’t squeeze money out of a stone”

“Not sure if the college will survive”

“I hear there’s another college where faculty still don’t have a contract after years of organizing

and now may strike- is that what you want here?”

“Let’s give our administration a chance”

Some try to delay and slow down the process through costly legal challenges.

Another tactic is making promises and even making improvements to try to dissuade people

that they don’t need a union, giving faculty the “red carpet treatment”.


Our hope is to foster a collaborative approach with CCA administration and begin a process of bargaining that is respectful to our mission as a college in this community.

How do we, the ranked faculty, ensure that our union reflects our interests?

CFT, AFT, and AAUP have a long history of helping educators form democratic local unions. At

CCA, we will have our own local union, elect our elected leaders, determine our priorities for

bargaining, vote to approve our collective bargaining agreement, and much more. By being part

of CFT, AFT, and AAUP we get the experience and power from being part of a statewide and

national organization of, by and for educators.