CSULB faculty vote on strike
Press-Telegram 3/13/07
Members of the California Faculty Association at the 16 other CSU campuses voted last week on whether to allow the CFA board of directors to call for job actions - likely consisting initially of "rolling walkouts" - should the last stage of the labor negotiation process fail to produce an agreement.
A simple majority of CFA union members statewide is required for approval. Results of the strike vote" - the first in CFA history - will be announced March 21.
The two sides have been in negotiations for nearly two years on a new contract. Salary remains the major point of contention.
Both sides are waiting for the release of the final report of an independent fact-finder. If after 10 days following the report's release, the two parties cannot come to terms or agree to continue talks, the union could begin work stoppages.
The first job actions, which could come as soon as next month, likely would be two-day walkouts, said Alice Sunshine, a spokeswoman for CFA, which represents 24,000 CSU instructors, librarians, coaches and counselors.
The union says the strike may be necessary because the CSU system's salary offer is inadequate.
For its part, the CSU system said it has offered a fair salary increase.
"We believe that if there is no agreement at the end of the fact-finding process, our faculty will keep the students' well-being in perspective and do nothing to harm their educational experience, or their progress toward degree completion," CSU officials said in a statement.
CSULB faculty union members have until Thursday to cast votes either in person in the University Student Union or online.
A job action would bring attention to the faculty's cause, said Susan Love, a lecturer in social work.
"We need to have higher wages that allow us to pay rents and mortgages in our neighborhood" of Long Beach, she said.
CSULB psychologist Rosa Moreno said an adequate raise is needed to boost sinking morale.
"The faculty are the fiber of the university," she said. "Without them ... we would not have a university. And are begin treated really unfairly."
Kathleen Di Vito, an English lecturer who voted in favor of strike authorization, said she would try to make arrangements to minimize disruption to her students during walkouts, such as changing assignment schedules and using the Internet to coordinate class activities.
Mike Barker, a CSULB senior, said he would be concerned about how walkouts might affect exam schedules.
But he would support faculty walkouts, he said.
"What it comes down to is that if we want the best teachers, that they (have to be) paid properly," he said.