Faculty raise just step one

San Bernardino Sun 4/5/07

The tentative contract agreement reached Tuesday between the California State University system and its faculty union, which will avert dreaded strikes, has everyone breathing a sigh of relief. Two-day strikes planned at six CSU campuses next week, which did not include Cal State San Bernardino, have been called off, pending a final contract.

And while we're glad faculty at all 23 campuses will get a substantial 20.7 percent raise over four years, it is also encouraging that the union's first order of business is to try to avert an expected 10 percent raise in student fees this fall.

Union Vice President Lillian Taiz said fighting off the hike of $252 a year for undergraduates is the union's next order of business.

But since student fees and state funding are the main source of university revenue, the only realistic way of accomplishing that goal is to pressure legislators to budget more money to the state's universities. It's professors who should get a raise, after all - not the students.