Cal State faculty approve strike

by Cassie Kornblau

Friday, March 23, 2007 00:00

California State University faculty representatives voted Wednesday to authorize various two-day strikes at different university departments systemwide.

The contract between CSU and the faculty was first scheduled to expire June 30, 2005, university spokesperson Paul Browning said, but the latest extension ends Sunday.

A fact-finding document is scheduled to be released that day, explaining the goals of both sides.

However, John Travis, president of the California Faculty Association, said the faculty is still adamant about receiving a new, more equitable contract than what CSU is willing to offer.

The heart of the issue, Travis said, is that faculty salaries at CSU lag 18 percent behind comparable four-year institutions, with top-ranking professors receiving 25 percent less than their colleagues.

The data, Travis added, was compiled by the California Postsecondary Education Commission — which oversees California Community Colleges, California State Universities and the University of California system — in an annual report that compares salaries of California professors with other professors at four-year institutions across the country.

Travis said the faculty association has proposed a contract that would attempt to cut into the salary gap and eliminate the gap completely for assistant and associate professors, while also reducing the gap for full-time professors by more than 50 percent.

Despite the CFA's proposal, California State University has vowed to provide professors with a substantial increase.

"It is an excellent offer," Browning said. "We are providing a four-year agreement with a contract total offer up by 23 percent."

According to a CFA report, 94 percent of the faculty union voted to support a strike, Travis said, proving the discontent among faculty with the offer from the state university system.

CSU employs 23,000 faculty members, 10,000 of whom are union members. At least half the union must vote to permit a strike.

"This is the first time CSU faculty has ever taken a strike vote," Travis said. "We don't take it lightly. We don't want to strike. We want to keep teaching."

Travis said the two-day strikes on 23 campuses systemwide will likely start next month and continue to run through the remainder of the semester unless changes are agreed upon in the contract.

"We have been pushed so far into a really bad situation," Travis said. "We have no alternative."