The faculty union of the California State University is planning a week of strikes across the 23 campuses after the system said Tuesday that it would provide 5% raises to members, far below what the union is seeking.
The California Faculty Association is asking for 12% raises this fiscal year, , like extended parental leave and higher minimum salaries for the lowest-paid workers. But the 5% is an amount last year as Cal State fought to stave off an even larger labor walk off. From Cal State鈥檚 perspective, its latest and final offer concludes contract negotiations. For the faculty union, it reaffirms its plans, broadcast in December, to strike in late January.
鈥淢anagement鈥檚 imposition gives us no other option but to continue to move forward with our plan for a systemwide strike,鈥� the faculty union told its members this afternoon. Planning to join the faculty union on the picket lines , a labor group of 1,100 skilled maintenance workers.
The whiplash in messaging 鈥� raises on one hand but a vow to strike in pursuit of higher pay and benefits 鈥� is yet another flare-up in the months-long standoff between leaders of the nation鈥檚 largest public four-year university, home to more than 400,000 students, and the faculty union that represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches. The union had already , cutting off instruction a week before the .
The university鈥檚 decision today also precedes Wednessday鈥檚 unveiling of Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 spending plan for 2024-25. He鈥檚 expected to spell out the state鈥檚 deep budget hole, .
鈥淭hroughout the bargaining process, the CFA never veered from its initial salary demand, which was not financially viable and would have resulted in massive cuts to campuses 鈥� including layoffs 鈥� that would have jeopardized the CSU鈥檚 educational mission,鈥� a Cal State press release stated today.
The 12% the union seeks is a response to the soaring inflation the nation experienced since 2021, when prices rose and the purchasing power of paychecks withered. An independent factfinder in December recommended that the two sides agree to a compromises. But an offer of above 5% would have reopened salary negotiations with other unions because of terms agreed to in those contracts 鈥� .
鈥淢anagement鈥檚 imposition gives us no other option but to continue to move forward with our plan for a systemwide strike.鈥�CALIFORNIA FACULTY ASSOCIATION
Throughout negotiations, the system was offering , but the 10% for the last two years were contingent on the state continuing to grow Cal State鈥檚 funding by 5% annually. The union balked at .
Dispute over Cal State finances
Cal State since last May has been signaling that its finances are rocky. The system said at that time its revenues of what it needs to adequately educate its students. That finding prompted the system鈥檚 board of trustees last September to approve five years of consecutively escalating tuition hikes 鈥� increases totaling . Those will kick in this fall, but will only affect about 40% of undergraduates. The remaining 60% of students don鈥檛 pay any tuition because they receive enough state and institutional financial aid. While those tuition hikes will bring more revenue to the system, it鈥檚 not enough to fully fund Cal State鈥檚 mission, its senior leaders have maintained.
The faculty union , arguing instead that Cal State has to afford the raises the union seeks and to spend more money on students without increasing what they鈥檙e charged. Cal State has pushed back on that analysis, noting that it needs to build its reserves so it has the equivalent of at least three months of its operating budget as cash on-hand in case of economic emergencies. Currently, it only has about .
Monday was supposed to be the start of a week of bargaining between the faculty union and Cal State leadership to come to a deal and avoid the strike. But that ended poorly, union leadership said in a statement today. 鈥淎fter 20 minutes, the CSU management bargaining team threatened systemwide layoffs, walked out of bargaining, canceled all remaining negotiations, then imposed a last, best and final offer on CFA members,鈥� wrote Charles Toombs, faculty president and a professor at San Diego State.
The breakdown in negotiations was consistent with the tenor of relations between the two camps, which has been marked by frustration and a .
鈥淭hroughout the bargaining process, the CFA never veered from its initial salary demand, which was not financially viable and would have resulted in massive cuts to campuses.鈥�CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Professors at Cal State earn on average between $91,000 and $122,000, full-time lecturers and the 23 campus presidents have an average base salary of about $417,000, . Most lecturers are part-time and earned the equivalent of $64,000 on average in 2022.
Faculty groups have inveighed against the higher jumps in salaries top Cal State campus and system officials were awarded in recent years. A saw raises of 22% on average since 2007, presidents in that time saw base pay raises of 43% on average. The system鈥檚 new chancellor earns just shy of $800,000 in base pay and .
But even if faculty and the system resolve the current labor dispute, a wider set of contract items .
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