CSU is mulling a major strike
Ventura Star 2/22/07
It would be the first strike by CSU faculty over contract negotiations in the history of the university. It would also be the largest strike of its kind in the nation. With an estimated 400,000 students on 23 campuses, CSU is the largest university in the United States.
"We have said all along that we don't want to strike," John Travis, president of the California Faculty Association and political science professor at Humboldt State University, told reporters by telephone during a news conference Wednesday. "But we will strike if we have to."
Union and university representatives have been in contract negotiations since April 2005.
One of the main sticking points is salary, Travis said.
Pay levels for CSU faculty members lag those of comparable institutions, he said.
"In fact, over half of our faculty earn less than $43,000 a year," he said. "That simply is not acceptable."
CSU spokeswoman Clara Potes-Fellow said university administrators hope for a resolution that does not involve a strike.
"A strike would not be in the university's interest," Potes-Fellow said. It would hurt students, forcing them to miss classes while faculty are on the picket lines, she said. "Even one hour of missed classes hurts students."
Never in the university's history has the faculty union's board of directors called for a strike vote. Travis said the 26-0 vote Tuesday came after months of stalled negotiations.
Barring a last-minute agreement, faculty at each of CSU's campuses will vote in March on whether to strike.
The vote will occur from March 5 through March 8 on some campuses and from March 12 through March 15 on others.
Exactly when faculty on each campus will vote has yet to be determined, said Alice Sunshine, communications director for the California Faculty Association.
The outcome of the vote will be based on a simple majority of faculty who vote.
Union officials hopie at least 80 percent of the faculty members vote, Travis said.
"We want to show the administration that we're serious about this," he said.
Should a majority of the faculty vote to strike, it will then be up to union directors to decide if a strike will actually take place and when.
A strike likely would not take place until at least late March or early April, Sunshine said.
This is in part because negotiations between the university and faculty representatives are in a "fact-finding" stage, during which each side presents its position.
Fact-finding is expected to end in mid-March. That will be followed by a 10-day cooling-off period. Should agreements still not be forthcoming, the university can then impose its last best offer on faculty.
Once that happens, faculty can go on strike, Travis said.
John Yudelson, the vice-president for the California Faculty Association chapter at the CSU Channel Islands campus, said he knows of no faculty member who wants to strike.
"Personally, I hope that these actions are unnecessary and that both parties can reach a settlement that is in the best interests of students, faculty, the administration and the people of California," Yudelson said.