CSU faculty ratifies new contract

Daily Breeze 5/8/07

By City News Service

Following 23 months of negotiations and a strike authorization vote, California State University faculty members, including those at the Long Beach, Los Angeles and Northridge campuses, have approved a tentative labor agreement, union officials announced today.

The California Faculty Association's 12,000 members, voting on all 23 CSU campuses last week, approved the tentative contract by 97 percent.

``We are happy to ratify this contract and hope that this CSU administration will do the same,'' said CFA President John Travis. ``Through intense negotiations, faculty activism and finally strike preparations, the CSU faculty have won a contract that provides fair salaries, retirement security, proper grievance procedures and much more.''

The California State University Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the contract at its May 15-16 meeting.

``Our focus now is on ensuring the university has adequate resources to pay for compensation increases,'' said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed.

``Even with the full funding provided in the compact with the governor, which assumes a 4 percent increase in state funding and a 10 percent student fee increase, the combination of all compensation agreements with our employees and increased health benefit premiums will cost approximately $40 million more than the proposed 2007-08 CSU budget,'' he said. ``We will continue working with the Legislature and the governor to secure additional funding to minimize campus impacts.''

Last month, CSU officials said the proposed contract provides faculty members with base pay increases of 20.7 percent over a four-year period, along with some step increases.

In addition to the pay increases, $28 million will be set aside for merit and equity increases to provide raises for senior faculty who have reached the top of the pay scale, as well as boost junior faculty compensation, according to CSU officials. The university system will seek an additional 1 percent increase for all employees' compensation in state budget funds in each of the next three years, officials said.

According to the CSU, the base salary increases will raise the average salary for a tenure-track faculty member from $73,873 to $90,593 and the average salary for a full-time, full professor with tenure from $86,054 to $105,531 by the end of the contract period.

The total pay package will cost CSU more than $400 million over four years, university officials said.

The tentative agreement was reached just days before the union pledged to begin two-day rolling strikes on six CSU campuses, including Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills.