CSU faculty authorize a strike
Monterey Herald 3/22/07
Despite the authorization, any walkout by instructors could still be weeks away.
The union has announced that a strike, which would be the first for the system, would be a series of two-day rolling actions that would move from campus to campus sometime in April or May, eventually affecting all 23 -- including CSU-Monterey Bay.
Federal law requires a 10-day quiet period, which ends Monday, at which time a mediator will issue a report with recommendations for settling the contract dispute.
"This is not a union that has a tradition of job actions," said Rafael Gomez, chapter president of the California Faculty Association at CSU-Monterey Bay. "For all that are involved, we don't know what is going to happen next, literally."
Gomez said that 157 of the approximately 300 faculty members on CSUMB's campus are members of the faculty association.
"Many of them are frustrated in the two years that we haven't come up with a contract that is equitable for the faculty," he said.
Of the 8,129 faculty members statewide who voted, 94 percent were in favor of the strike authorization.
"Today, the faculty has spoken loud and clear -- they are tired of the way in which they are being treated by the CSU administration," said John Travis, president of the California Faculty Association. "They want a return to a true focus on the mission of the university -- the instruction of students."
The association represents about 23,000 faculty, and half of them are members.
A statement issued by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said administrators were doing everything they could to reach a settlement.
From Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying he was optimistic talks would resume.
"Faculty and administrators must work together in good faith so that our students, who are bettering themselves through receiving a quality college education, do not become the unintended victims of a looming strike," he said.
CSUMB President Dianne Harrison said the university has plans to minimize disruptions should a strike occur.
"Our plan is to keep the campus open," Harrison said in a statement. "Students should attend class."
The main issues in dispute include the disparity in pay between executives and teachers, as well as the difference between CSU faculty pay and salaries at other four-year institutions. Teachers are frustrated after working without a new contract for almost two years.
Faculty and administrators agree CSU instructors are paid less than peers at comparable institutions in other states.
Administrators said they made an offer to increase wages by nearly 25 percent over the next three years.
"We need to make real progress toward paying the CSU faculty at the same level as our peers around the country," Travis said. "We know this administration has the financial flexibility to make it happen, but they choose not to."
Union leaders dispute that most teachers would actually receive that much and disagree over a merit pay proposal.
Union representatives from each of the 23 campuses will meet in coming days to decide what happens next.
Gomez said faculty members at CSUMB are cognizant of their students' needs.
"We want students to succeed," he said. "We will not interfere with that.... We want to send a clear message to the administration that we are frustrated and we have had enough."
The contract expired in July of 2005 and has been renewed monthly since then.