About the Berkeley Faculty Association

History of BFA-AAUP

In March, 1972, the Berkeley Division Committee on Senate Policy presented a report warning of "the danger that the faculty's present authority is being subjected to erosion." That same year, at the May 30th meeting of its Representative Assembly, the Berkeley Division adopted (by a vote of 102 to 22) a resolution instructing the Committee on Committees to appoint a seven-person interim Executive Board to an organization of Berkeley Senate faculty to be known as the Faculty Association (BFA). Within a year, the Association was operational and had reached its initial membership goal of 400.

Membership in the organization has always been voluntary and open to members of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate. Over the years, however, the Association's membership base has declined--complacency being perhaps the best indicator of the Association's success in safeguarding faculty prerogatives over the years. In March 2000, the BFA entered into a Coalition agreement with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as part of a broader effort by the BFA's current leadership to revitalize the Association. This effort has as its objectives: programmatic development, an expansion of the leadership cadre, enhanced member services, and membership growth.

The programmatic work of the Association has two primary components: keeping Berkeley faculty informed on relevant issues, representing faculty concerns to UCOP and the Legislature. Generally, the Association has relied on biannual newsletters to keep faculty updated on our activities; however, we also try to keep our email database current for important announcements. As part of the Coalition effort, the Association hosted a conference on the intellectual property rights of faculty last fall, and is organizing a series of faculty luncheons around important topics for the coming Academic Year.

Our representational work of the Association is generally done in conjunction with the Council of UC Faculty Associations--of which the BFA is a founding member. The Council lobbies in Sacramento on behalf of U.C. faculty over a range of issues and our lobbyists often cooperate with the administration's, especially on funding issues. Of course, our interests are not always congruent, and the Council recently scored a major victory when it worked with California Faculty Association lobbyists to secure passage of Assembly Bill 1773, protecting faculty presentations and courseware. In addition to lobbying, CUCFA has the right to consult with the UC Office of the President on matters of statewide significance. Generally, CUCFA meets with UCOP representatives once or twice per semester. At the last meeting, our agenda included the unilateral changes that had been made to the retirement fund, recent problems with UC Care, the timing of COLA and Parity raises, and proposed changes to the "Outside Activities" language in the APM.
The Association's Board may have up to eleven members. As of October 1, 2001, the Board has ten members drawn from the following departments: Public Health/Public Policy, Economics, Haas School of Business, Energy Resource Group, Near Eastern Studies, Education, History, Political Science, and Social Welfare.

As a consequence of the Coalition with the AAUP, all BFA members in good standing have full memberships in the National AAUP.

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BFA-AAUP Constitution and By-Laws
BERKELEY FACULTY ASSOCIATION
BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization, referred to as "Association" in these by-laws, is the Berkeley Faculty Association.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS
Section 1. The Association shall have as its general objectives: to further the professional and scholarly values held by the faculty, to protect those privileges and responsibilities traditionally reserved to the faculty for the purpose of maintaining and improving the academic quality of the campus, and to improve the economic status and general welfare of the faculty.

Section 2. The Association shall have as its principal functions:
a. It will inform, consult with, and seek to represent faculty interests to all agencies whose decisions affect the faculty. It will gather and disseminate information to the faculty on issues before the legislative and executive branches of California's government, other relevant state units dealing with higher education, campus and University administrations, and the Board of Regents.

b. It will prepare for the possible eventuality of collective bargaining legislation by continually informing itself and the faculty on all relevant issues. It will monitor and may attempt to influence any pending legislation authorizing public employee collective bargaining so as to assure members of the faculty the right to self-determination. When and if collective bargaining is authorized it may, upon approval of the membership, seek to become the collective bargaining agent for the faculty.

c. It will encourage the development of, maintain contact with, coordinate its activities with, and form liaisons with parallel or similar organizations on other campuses of the University of California.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership in the Association is open to individuals in all categories of faculty eligible for membership in the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, under the standards contained in the By-laws of the Division in effect May 30, 1972, except for those holding full-time administrative positions at the rank of Provost and above.

Section 2. The criteria for membership may be altered only on approval, in a mail ballot of the membership, by an absolute majority of the membership, or, if less than 75% of the membership cast valid ballots, by two-thirds of those casting ballots. The Executive Board shall make its views on the proposed alteration of membership criteria known to the membership at the time of mailing ballots.

ARTICLE IV. RELATIONSHIP TO THE BERKELEY DIVISION
The Association shall carry out its functions independent of the activities of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate and its committees, and shall make use of none of the resources or facilities of the Berkeley Division. It shall support the principle of governance expressed in the present delegation of authority by the Board of Regents to the Academic Senate.

ARTICLE V. EXECUTIVE BOARD AND OFFICERS
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Board of at least seven persons but not more than eleven persons. Seven members shall be elected by mail ballot by the members of the Association. These individuals shall comprise the Executive Board. Up to four additional members of the Executive Board may be selected from the membership of the Association by the elected members of the Executive Board. These additional members shall comprise the Appointed Executive Board. Appointed Executive Board Members shall have all the voting rights of the Executive Board except those proscribed below.

Section 2. The officers of the Association shall be a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The officers shall be selected by the elected Executive Board members from within their own ranks. Selection of officers shall take place following each election of Board members and shall serve until successors are selected. Officers once selected may be removed by a vote of four members of the elected Board at a meeting of the Board called for that purpose.

Section 3. The term of Board members shall be two years, beginning October 1st and ending September 30th. Initially, however, in January, 1974 five board members will be elected; the term of two shall be until September 30, 1974 and three until September 30, 1975. The term of the remaining two Board members, who were elected in 1973, shall expire September 30, 1974. The term of Appointed Executive Board members shall be two years.

Section 4. Vacancies among elected members of the Executive Board or among its officers shall be filled by action of the elected Executive Board members; the term of appointments to the Board shall expire on the September 30th following the date of appointment and the position shall be filled by election at the next election following the date of appointment. Appointed positions may remain vacant at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Section 5. Elections for the Board shall be by mail vote of the members in good standing as of April 1st. Ballots shall be mailed no later than May 5th.

Section 6. There shall be a Nominating Committee for Board elections, which shall consist of three Association members in good standing as of the date of appointment (no later than April 1st). The Executive Board shall make the appointments; no member of the Board may be appointed to the Nominating Committee.

Section 7. On or before April 10th, the Nominating Committee shall propose a candidate for each Board position to be filled at that election. On or before April 13th, the Board will distribute by mail to the members the names of the persons nominated by the Nominating Committee; such notice will also indicate that further nominations may be made on petition of 25 members in good standing as of April 1st. Such petitions shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Association on or before April 27th. The names of all candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee and by petition shall be placed on the ballot, with a designation of the method by which each was nominated.

Section 8. Only Association members in good standing as of April 1st shall be eligible to be candidates for the Board.

Section 9. Each voter may vote for as many candidates as there are posts to be elected, and the winning candidates shall be determined by plurality vote.

Section 10. The Board shall appoint a committee to be responsible for the conduct of the election and the counting of the vote. The Board shall announce the result of the election within seven days of the close of the ballot period.

Section 11. The first election, to be held in January, 1974 (as indicated in section 3 above), shall be conducted by procedures parallel to those set forth in this Article, with suitable adjustments of dates.

ARTICLE VI. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE BOARD AND OFFICERS
Section 1. The Executive Board shall act as the governing body of the Association between Association meetings. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for conduct of its business.

Section 2. The Chair shall preside over meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board, shall issue the call for such meetings, and shall supervise the administration of the Association's programs.

Section 3. The Vice Chair shall assist the Chair in the supervision of the general program of the Association and shall act in the Chair's stead at all Association and Board meetings which the Chair is unable to attend.

Section 4. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the records of the Association, for preparing a record of the minutes of all regular and special meetings of the Association and all meetings of the Executive Board, and for issuing notice of the call to regular and special meetings of the Association when instructed to do so by the Chair.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall serve as the custodian of Association funds and shall be responsible for keeping these funds in a suitable depository, for keeping the Association's financial statement up to date at all times and for making it available to the Association upon request, and for maintaining and keeping a current list of the membership in good standing, which list shall be available at any Association meeting when called for. The Treasurer shall prepare a financial report for distribution to the membership at least once a year. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the disbursing of funds of the Association as authorized by the Executive Board.

Section 6. Members of the Board shall perform such other functions as the Board may determine. The Association or the Board may establish such committees as circumstances require.

Section 7. The Board shall employ such staff as is necessary for the effective functioning of the Association. The staff will operate under the direction of the Executive Board.

Section 8. The Chair shall issue a call for a meeting of the Executive Board upon request of three members of the Board.

ARTICLE VII. DUES AND ASSESSMENTS
Section 1. The dues shall be graduated by faculty rank on a twelve-month basis at the rates set by the Board for Assistant, Associate, Full, and Emeriti Professors. The Board may develop a comparable and equitable dues structure to cover persons holding other titles, members on leave, and other special categories.

Section 2. Changes in the level of dues for any category of member require the approval of the Executive Board, voting unanimously after due deliberation.

Section 3. Paid-up membership shall be a prerequisite for Association membership in good standing.

Section 4. Special assessments may be levied but only on recommendation of the Executive Board and by a subsequent majority vote at a meeting of the Association, provided that the provisions of Article VIII, Section 3, are met and that the proposal is specifically announced in the call for the meeting at which ratification is proposed.

ARTICLE VIII. MEETINGS
Section 1. The Association will schedule at least one regular meeting during each academic year.

Section 2. The Chair shall call a special meeting of the Association within two weeks when requested to do so by a majority of the Executive Board or on petition signed by ten percent of the Association members in good standing.

Section 3. The quorum for any Association meeting shall be 25 Association members in good standing or five percent of the membership, whichever is higher. Any action taken at a membership meeting shall be submitted for approval by the membership by mail ballot upon request of one-third of the members in attendance at that meeting, or of a majority of the Executive Board.

Section 4. The Secretary shall issue a notice of any regular or special meeting of the Association at least seven days prior to the meeting date, unless the Executive Board shall determine that circumstances require shorter notice.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENT
These by-laws may be amended, except as provided in Article III, Section 2, by a majority of the membership responding to a mail ballot.

ARTICLE X. MAIL BALLOTS
Section 1. Mail ballots, other than those scheduled for regular election to the Board, may be initiated for any purpose by the Executive Board or by direction of a regular or special meeting of the Association.

Section 2. Except as otherwise specified in these by-laws, those eligible to vote in any mail ballot shall be all members in good standing as of one month before the date on which these ballots are mailed. Unless the Executive Board shall declare that an emergency exists requiring a shorter period, all ballots postmarked within two weeks from the date of mailing of a mail ballot shall be counted.

Section 3. Except as otherwise specified in these by-laws, matters submitted to the membership by mail ballot shall require only a simple majority of those casting ballots.

ARTICLE XI. EFFECTIVE DATE
These by-laws became effective on January 14, 1974. (Article III, Section 1, amended 12-5-80; Article V, Sections 1-4, amended 5-30-96; Article V, Section 2, amended 2-27-01; Article VI, Section 2-4 and 8, amended 2-27-01; Article VII, Section 1, amended 2-3-75, 1-9-76, 3-19-96, 4-23-96, and 2-27-01; Article VII, Section 2, amended 1-1-86 and 2-27-01; Article VIII, Section 1, amended 1-9-76; Article VII, Section 2, amended 2-27-01)

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