By Cherie Brower |Staff Writer|

Faculty salary negotiations remain at an impasse—which may lead to a strike—as the California Faculty Association (CFA) and the California State University (CSU) system stall over 2015-16 and 2016-17 contracts. Scholarly voices in favor of “fair compensation” rise against representatives rallying for reasonable budget expectations, while common footing has yet to be found.

Beginning on Oct. 19, and continuing through Oct. 28, more than 25,000 faculty members from across the 23 CSU campuses will participate in a strike authorization vote, which will be organized by the California Faculty Association.

If passed, the vote could result in job actions by CFA members, up to and including strike proceeds, until wage negotiations are met on agreeable terms.

The CFA has put forth a proposal in favor of a 5 percent general salary increase, in addition to a 1.2 percent rise in salary service increases. The current CSU system proposal has allotted for a 2 percent salary augmentation, which is consistent to other groups of employment in the state of California.

The CFA has been in negotiations with the CSU Chancellor’s Office over wage increases. The CFA’s proposed 5 percent salary increase would be aimed to keep faculty compensation in line with inflation and current cost of living.

Class sizes have increased across camFaculty salary negotiations remain at an impasse—which may lead to a strike—as the California Faculty Association (CFA) and the California State University (CSU) system stall over 2015-16 and 2016-17 contracts. Scholarly voices in favor of “fair compensation” rise against representatives rallying for reasonable budget expectations, while common footing has yet to be found.

Beginning on Oct.19, and continuing through Oct. 28, more than 25,000 faculty members from across the 23 CSU campuses will participate in a strike authorization vote, which will be organized by the California Faculty Association.

If passed, the vote could result in job actions by CFA members, up to and including strike proceeds, until wage negotiations are met on agreeable terms.

The CFA has put forth a proposal in favor of a 5 percent general salary increase, in addition to a 1.2 percent rise in salary service increases. The current CSU system proposal has allotted for a 2 percent salary augmentation, which is consistent to other groups of employment in the state of California.

The CFA has been in negotiations with the CSU Chancellor’s Office over wage increases. The CFA’s proposed 5 percent salary increase would be aimed to keep faculty compensation in line with inflation and current cost of living.

Class sizes have increased across campuses, along with hours and labor needed to educate a larger body of students.

Dr. Tiffany Jones, Associate Professor at CSUSB, stated, “faculty really want to ensure quality education for all students, and in order to continue to provide students with excellent education, we need to make sure that we have quality faculty who are paid fairly instead of putting money into obscure projects and perks for administrators.”

Faculty are currently signing “Fight for Five” commitment cards, indicating to the CFA that they intend to vote “yes” for further actions against the CSU proposal.

The present CSU proposal would be aimed to keep system-wide tuition costs at current levels. Four and six year graduation rates for the CSU system are at a historic high, with current enrollment exceeding 450,000 students.

According to Toni Molle, Director of Public Affairs for CSU, the budget must maintain a “balanced approach.” The 2 percent faculty salary increase allocated by CSU, and decided upon by the Board of Trustees, reaches a total budget of $32.8 million; the 5 percent salary increase recommended by the CFA reaches a budget of $101.7 million.

The differences between the budgets total $68.9 million, unless the “me too” clauses are factored in, meaning that other unions would receive increases similar to the CFA. These clauses would increase the budget gap to $108 million.

Mediations move forward, but the horizon of successful bargaining remains unseen.