CSU faculty to vote on new contract

O.C. Register 5/1/07

By Marla Jo Fisher

California State University faculty, librarians, coaches and counselors are scheduled to begin voting today on whether to ratify a new union contract, potentially avoiding a threatened strike of the 23-campus system.

Approval of the new contract is expected, after nearly two years of sometimes bitter negotiations. In March, some 94 percent of union members with the California Faculty Association, which bargains on behalf of about 22,000 campus workers, voted to approve a strike if called by their union leaders.

"CFA's bargaining team and board of directors believe this is a solid contract and we're happy to recommend it for ratification," union

President John Travis, a political science professor, said in a prepared statement. "Given the enthusiasm our members have expressed about the labor contract, we anticipate that they will ratify it this week."

At CSU Fullerton, some 650 of 2,200 faculty are eligible to vote as union members.

The union is scheduled to announce the results of the voting, to take place between now and Thursday, on May 7.

The CSU board of trustees would be likely to approve the new contract at its May meeting.

The contract, as proposed, would provide all faculty a nearly 21 percent raise over four years, while some faculty would receive higher increases.

Other issues on the table in the longstanding negotiations included job security for non-tenured faculty, working conditions and parking fees.