CSUSM professors picket, warn of possible strike
North County Times 1/23/07
Leaders of the California Faculty Association, which represents professors throughout the 23-campus California State University system, have created a complicated plan for something called "rolling walkouts," said Janet Powell, president of the union's San Marcos chapter.
In a rolling walkout, professors at a group of Cal State campuses would go on strike for two days, and when they return to work professors at other campuses would replace them on strike for another two days, said Powell.
The action would continue until each of the 23 campuses has been affected, said Powell. A decision on whether to move forward with the plan will probably be made sometime in February, she said.
"We think that two-day rolling strikes would have the least effect on students, while hopefully still getting our message across loud and clear," Powell told professors and students gathered at the Kellogg Library plaza on Monday. "I hope everyone is fired up for what is probably going to be a pretty tough semester."
Similar rallies are being held at campuses systemwide this month to protest the latest contract offer from Cal State administrators in Long Beach, which the faculty union claims is full of false promises.
Among the chants on Monday were "Hey hey, ho ho, fake raises have got to go," and "Bargain a fair contract now."
Claudia Keith, a spokeswoman for the Cal State system, said that system officials believe their most recent offer is a generous one, explaining that it includes cumulative 24.5 percent raises over three years.
"In this budget climate, we think this is a pretty generous offer," said Keith. "We're sorry it has come to this, and that energy is being expended on these issues and not in the classroom."
Union officials contend that a significant portion of the raises included in the offer are dependent on a healthy state budget in coming years, which makes them far different from the guaranteed pay raises given to other employees, including system executives.
Keith said system administrators are concerned about possible strikes, but she stressed that the administration is hopeful that "fact finding," a mediation process slated to begin soon, will resolve the impasse with the union.
Powell said the union is not nearly as hopeful.
"We expect them to impose their final contract offer on us, and that is why we are planning job actions," she said.
Janet McDaniel, one of the professors picketing Monday, said she hopes that rallies across the state will persuade state officials that students, who were asked to provide e-mail addresses Monday so they can stay involved in the contract issue, are united with the faculty.
"I don't want to strike, but I will if I have to," said McDaniel. "We're demanding a fair contract, and that's what we're determined to get."
Marisol Flores, a student who spoke at the rally, told her classmates that they need to study the issues surrounding the faculty labor strife.
"I don't want my quality of education to suffer because our governor can't afford to pay professors what they deserve," said Flores. "This is not just a faculty issue, but also a student issue."
Most students interviewed at the rally said they knew very little about the dispute, but planned to do some research. They also said they were concerned about a possible strike.
"It's a little scary and kind of sad for both parties," said senior Lori Brown.
"You'd think that with the government supporting education that this shouldn't happen," said junior Bernardo Nelson.
Elsewhere on campus, students got their first taste of Cougar Central, a new $5 million student services hub on the third floor of Craven Hall that combines Admissions & Recruiting, Registration & Records, Financial Aid & Scholarships and Outreach Management.
"Students seem to really like everything being centralized," said Kelly Fox, a university employee working in Cougar Central. "Some people may be confused by the change, but students are glad they are not getting bounced around to so many different places."
Students interviewed inside Cougar Central agreed that the changes were a step in the right direction. "It's pretty crowded, but I see what they have in mind," said Emily Coffey. "It seems like a good idea."
School officials said they hope Cougar Central will help the university cope with strong enrollment growth this school year and in the future.
First-day enrollment set a new spring semester record on Monday, with 8,002 students. That is a 9 percent increase from the 7,343 students enrolled on the first day of spring semester in 2006, according to Darren Bush, associate vice president for enrollment management.
While many students on Monday were struggling to finalize their class schedules, buying parking permits and handling other essential business, most students interviewed on campus said they were just calmly enjoying a bright, sunny day.
Brian Lehmer, a third-year student from Escondido, said returning students are usually able to find a groove.
"You get into the flow of things, and then everything just kind of falls into place," said Lehmer, who was listening to music on his laptop while enjoying the sunshine in Markstein Hall courtyard.