Support for Public Employees and Collective Bargaining

AS-3021-11/FA/FGA

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) — as a body
legally constituted to represent CSU faculty, one of the largest groups of public sector
employees in California — strongly support the college and university faculty whose
collective bargaining rights are currently under threat by the legislatures in Wisconsin,
Ohio, Indiana and other states and who, along with other public employees, are being
unfairly targeted as a cause of their states' budget difficulties; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU distribute this resolution to the offices of the Governors of Wisconsin,
Ohio and Indiana; the Wisconsin State Legislature; the Faculty Senates of the University
of Wisconsin; Office of the Governor of the State of California; the CSU Board of
Trustees; the CSU Office of the Chancellor; California Faculty Association; the CSU
campus senate chairs; the Academic Senate of the University of California; and the
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.

RATIONALE: The ASCSU is a representative body authorized by the California Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) and, as such, represents one of California’s largest sectors of public employees working under collective bargaining agreements. Without such an agreement for its faculty, it is likely that the ASCSU would be both weakened and possibly diverted from its primary mission, as its focus would necessitate discussion and negotiation of other conditions vital to the well-being of faculty, including salary, tenure protections and grievance concerns currently handled by the CSU/CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

In the months of February and March of 2011, an unprecedented series of actions by the Governor of the State of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin state legislature sought to dramatically curtail the extant collective bargaining rights of public employees in the health, education and safety sectors. Such attacks on the rights of public employees are deplorable. In the setting of higher education, these actions pose direct threats to academic freedom, to the degree that the voice of the faculty is strengthened and protected by the terms of bargaining agreements.

AAUP President Cary Nelson remarked on the relationship between collective bargaining agreements, academic freedom and faculty governance in a 3-12-11 communication to AAUP members (http://www.popecenter.org/clarion_call/article.html?id=2489) where he stated:

"As professional educators, faculty members are particularly concerned with their role in curriculum design, setting hiring priorities, and shaping instructional budget decisions…[Collective bargaining can] secure agreements on these matters and…can also win contractual status for the fundamental values of
academic freedom and shared governance…[Collective bargaining] protects the freedom of choice and expression we value in members of a university community".

Approved – March 17-18, 2011