CSU faculty strike vote could shut some Poly classes
SLO Tribune 3/22/07
Faculty can now legally strike as of Monday. But the vote results released Wednesday don’t guarantee a walkout.
That could be averted if the CSU and California Faculty Association accept a mediator’s recommendations or work out a new negotiation.
It’s unclear what impact a strike may have locally, because individual members can choose whether to participate, one Cal Poly professor said.
The CSU’s faculty union released a statement Wednesday saying that 8,129 members, or 81 percent, voted — and 94 percent of them approved a strike.
Richard Saenz, Cal Poly’s CFA president, said Wednesday, he didn’t have a breakdown of Poly’s numbers.
"We hope this vote prods everybody to reach an agreement or negotiate some more and that all the time and energy to plan the vote paid off," Saenz said. "We hope for a celebration party rather than a strike."
The CFA’s initial plans are for a rolling two-day strike in April, in which faculty protest two days each on different days at individual campuses.
Cal Poly students could see some classes cancelled on the two days, but that would depend on each instructor’s decision on whether to participate in the strike, Saenz said.
No possible strike dates have been set.
The CFA says it has been negotiating with the CSU Chancellor’s Office for nearly two years.
The CSU says it offered faculty a raise of up to about 25 percent over four years.
The union contends that only 15 percent is guaranteed, while the CSU says the deal it has offered provides a minimum 18 percent increase.
Cal Poly President Warren Baker said in a quarterly meeting with local media Wednesday that the CSU’s offer to the faculty reflects the raises of other unions in the system.
Baker added that state allocations to the CSU have dropped significantly, while criminal justice spending has increased; money for both comes from the same pot.
"The strike vote is unfortunate," Baker said, "because (employee) salaries lag in all areas in the CSU system."
Baker said Poly faculty lags about 13 percent behind comparable institutions, and he hopes to catch up in five years.
But the CSU’s union representatives contend faculty is 18 percent behind comparable institutions.
Starting salaries at Cal Poly range from $51,228 for an assistant professor — a beginning position — to $59,196 for an associate professor and $70,140 for a fully tenured professor. A full professor assigned to a department chair can make up to $130,008, according to Poly’s public affairs office.
Part-time lecturers make up 379 of Cal Poly’s roughly 1,200 faculty positions, and there are 113 full-time lecturers, said Mike Suess, Poly associate vice president of academic personnel.
Base pay scales range from $31,848 to $97,776 for full-time lecturers based on rank. Part-time faculty have prorated contracts based on pay scales, Suess said.
A recent Moody’s Investors Services credit rating report gave the CSU a strong credit rating and cited $1.2 billion in reserves. CFA says those funds could be used toward raises. But the CSU has responded that those reserves must go toward construction projects and operating costs, according to its Web site.
Should the CSU Faculty strike?