Cal State system, faculty reach deal to avoid strikes
Daily Bulletin 4/4/07
The proposal would give all of the roughly 23,000 faculty members 20.7 percent in pay raises over four years. Some would receive additional increases.
The package also includes money for annual salary increases for faculty who perform up to standards. Average yearly pay for tenure-track faculty would rise from $74,000 to $90,749, according to CSU figures.
"We pretty much got everything we asked for," said John Travis, president of the California Faculty Association. "I think we're pretty satisfied with this agreement."
Dues-paying union members are expected to vote on a contract in coming weeks.
Pending a final contract, faculty agreed to call off strikes planned for six CSU system campuses next week.
Gwen Urey, president of the CFA chapter at Cal Poly Pomona, said the new contract offer was a great agreement.
"This (contract) is very straightforward and has reasonable salary increases that will offer increases to everybody every year and further increases to those who haven't reached their salary cap."
She said the most important element in the management proposal was that everyone would be eligible for a salary increase for the next four years.
During a Monday conference call involving CFA chapter presidents from around the state, Urey said, the group was satisfied that the agreement had no significant problems.
"The previous offer had all these contingencies in it which were flawed," Urey said.
While the tentative contract has yet to be ratified, it looks as though the contract dispute will have a positive outcome.
There was general relief at Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday - and not just from instructors.
"I was a little worried for a while because I was afraid they would strike for longer," said Enrique Hernandez, a third-year business-administration student, alluding to the possibility of a prolonged strike.
"I'm thrilled that we're getting on with life," said Dwight Sweeney, a professor of educational psychology and counseling who was busy checking out the university's new fitness center Tuesday.
Sweeney, who has been at Cal State San Bernardino since 1989, said the faculty deserves a healthy pay hike after forgoing raises in tough budget times.
The agreement would help bring pay up to par with that at other institutions. According to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, CSU faculty salaries before the deal lagged 18 percent behind what 15 comparable universities were projected to pay next year.
"CSU employees, including our faculty, are the university's greatest asset," CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said in a statement. "This agreement strikes a realistic balance between providing deserved raises to our faculty and our limited financial resources."
Union leaders said they believed the strike threat pushed CSU administrators to settle.
Faculty say a contract is not a fix-all and that salary grievances were part of a larger set of problems, such as growing class sizes, facing the CSU system.
Lillian Taiz, union vice president, said fighting student fee increases, including a 10 percent hike expected this fall, are among new union priorities. The increase would raise student fees by $252 a year for undergraduates systemwide.
Travis said faculty leaders believe the system could fund the terms of the pay agreement without fee increases.
CSU officials argue that they are doing their best to preserve their institutions' quality after sustaining hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts in the state's recent budget crisis. Student fees and state money are the system's main sources of revenue, and fee hikes are necessary if the state won't give, they say.
Uyen Mai, Cal Poly Pomona senior communications coordinator, said the university is enthusiastic about the news of the settlement.
"We hope the agreement is ratified because the university is looking forward to focusing its attention back on education," she said.
Mai said that, with spring quarter starting, it was important for students and the university to focus on education, especially as students look forward to commencement.
Tom Meisenhelder, Cal State San Bernardino union chapter president, said faculty hope the pending contract will be a step in "rebuilding the CSU."
"People are relieved, and I think people recognize that it was the faculty's actions and commitments throughout the system that accomplished this agreement," he said.