Union, Cal State avert strike

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 4, 2007 | by Matt KrupnickSTAFF

The union representing 24,000 California State University faculty members has agreed to a tentative contract that would hike professors' pay nearly 25 percent over four years and avert a strike at the 417,000-student system.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, must be ratified by union members and the Cal State Board of Trustees. The breakthrough came after two years of negotiations and just days before two-day walkouts were to begin on the system's 23 campuses.

A strike would have been the largest in U.S. higher-education history. Faculty leaders said they would stall strike plans while the contract was being finalized.

"We decided to make this announcement to assure our students we were very close to an agreement," said John Travis, a Humboldt State University professor and president of the California Faculty Association. "I do believe the faculty has taken a stand for California State University and public higher education in California."

The association has about 12,000 members, including teachers, librarians and coaches. The strike had been authorized last month by94 percent of the 8,100 members who voted.

With the settlement, average salaries for tenure-track professors would rise from $74,000 to $90,749, and full professors would see their pay increase from $86,000 to $105,465. Most provisions match an independent fact-finder's recommendations.

"We pretty much got everything we asked for," Travis said. "We're pretty satisfied with this agreement."

The pact would cost the university $400 million over the contract's four years. Faculty leaders have argued that the system has enough money to fund the salary hikes; Cal State administrators say the contract will require cooperation from the Legislature and governor.

System Chancellor Charles Reed said he believes the proposed contract is fair.

"This agreement strikes a realistic balance between providing deserved raises to our faculty and our limited financial resources," Reed said in a release.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the office was still analyzing the agreement, but Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying he was pleased a strike had been averted.

Professors at Cal State East Bay's Hayward and Concord campuses were scheduled to walk out April 11 and 12. The union had planned to stagger the two-day strikes to diminish their effect on students.

The contentious battle stems from a salary structure that professors said lags far behind those at comparable universities. The proposed contract would bring faculty salaries significantly closer to those at a group of U.S. institutions routinely compared to the Cal State system.

Instructors also have criticized university leaders for giving lucrative perks and bonuses to top executives as lower-paid faculty members bargained for salary hikes. The university also raised student fees by 10 percent last month.

The inequity has led to a decline in quality, union leaders said.

"Our inability to attract junior faculty for many years has left us in a deep hole," said Lillian Taiz, a Cal State Los Angeles professor and union vice president. "Our students are the ones who are going to pay the price for that."

Some Cal State students said they were happy the threat of a strike had diminished. But some also said they had not worried much about the issue.

"The students didn't really know much about it," said Mansoora Shah-Zaeem, a student leader on the Concord campus. "It was relatively calm."

Pact at a glance

California State University administrators and faculty leaders have agreed to a tentative contract that would:

- Guarantee all faculty members 20.7 percent salary increases over four years.

- Provide additional raises that could boost some salaries nearly 25 percent.

- Raise the average tenure-track faculty salary from $74,000 to $90,749.

- Raise the salary for the average full professor from $86,000 to $105,465.

Source: California State University