HSU faculty union preparing to walk
Times-Standard 3/27/07
”We don't want to strike, but we will,” said Chris Haynes, Humboldt State University lecturer who sits on the faculty union bargaining team.
”Just because the chancellor wants another 10-day period to keep bargaining, that doesn't give us a lot of confidence that at the end of 10 days we'll have a contract,” Haynes said. “(But) we're cautiously optimistic because they are back at the table.”
After Sunday's public release of a fact-finding report, the CSU and California Faculty Association -- with more than 11,000 members from the 23 universities -- extended their contract until April 6. Faculty statewide have been working under a contract that expired June 2005, which has been extended a number of times during negotiations.
Haynes said a series of phone conversations between the CFA leader -- HSU professor and faculty union president John Travis -- and the CSU chancellor will take place over the next few days, but no definitive meeting is yet scheduled for the two bargaining teams.
The fact-finder's report, a 37-page document of third-party recommendations to help the two sides come to an agreement, calls for a 25 percent retroactive pay increase, which has given the faculty union hope.
“I was very pleased,” Haynes said. “It's not exactly our position, but it certainly validates what we've been working on for the last 23 months.”
CSU officials said they'll continue to work with the CFA to reach an agreement, but added specific settlement details won't be made public until a contract is accepted and made final.
”We are hopeful that at the end of this process, we will have a finalized agreement so that we can move forward with getting our faculty their salary increases,” said Roberta Achtenberg, CSU board of trustees chairwoman, in a press release.
Chancellor Charles Reed said in a press release the settlement discussions track very closely with the fact-finder's recommendations and shows substantial movement from the CSU administration's offer from November 2006. “We have shown that were are committed to securing a contract with our faculty union,” Reed said.
Even so, the union isn't wasting any time. Just this past weekend, training sessions to inform faculty about strike organization were held in Oakland and Los Angeles.
HSU retired professor and past chapter president Milt Boyd, who attended a session in Oakland on Friday, said he got a sense of how to organize a major strike effort.
The local union chapter has already secured a strike sanction from the Humboldt-Del Norte Central Labor Council, which means other local unions will have to respect and not disrupt picket lines, Boyd said.
Seven areas around the HSU campus have been identified for picket lines, he said. But both Boyd and Haynes added they'd much rather see an agreement reached than go to the streets.
“We are cautiously optimistic but very guarded,” Haynes said. “We have to see a signed contract, and I truly hope we do.”