CSU faculty to vote on strike

Faculty members at the California State University’s 23 campuses are voting online and in person starting Monday on whether to permit their labor union to call a strike over stalled salary negotiations.

Armstrong received a 2 percent salary increase in July when CSU trustees approved a 2 percent raise for campus presidents and other executives in the university system.

One of the earlier authorization votes resulted in a one-day walkout at two campuses in 2011.

At issue is the size of pay raises that union members will receive this school year.

CSU said “compensation is a top priority”.

If the faculty votes to authorize a strike, another vote would be required to effectively strike.

The vote is the latest move in negotiations between faculty and Cal State officials. She pointed to years of salary freezes that she says have placed faculty salaries below the cost of living. A strike, she said, would not happen until after the first of the year. “Many of these adjunct faculty and lecturers make “$40,000 after teaching for 20 years-$50,000 if they are lucky”, according to Domingo Forasté. The faculty rejected a two percent salary increase offered by the CSU Chancellor’s Office last October.

“A strike would not be in the best interests of our students”, she said.

According to a CFA survey, 60 percent of faculty respondents said they were unable to afford housing in the community where their campus is located.

“In the last 10 years, our salaries haven’t kept up with purchase power and its caused great problems for a majority of faculty”, Hassan said. “Faculty are having a hard time, their motivation is lower and the students suffer”.

“I don’t know what the answer is”.

“I think the Chancellor’s Office is being really stubborn and unreasonable”, he said. Also, 86 percent of faculty who were parents said they were not able to save money for their own children’s college experience.

“Nobody wants to go on strike”, he said. “We went for so long without raises”.

The faculty union is now engaged in a labor dispute with the CSU system.

Cal State Long Beach professor and union chapter president Doug Domingo- Foraste said, however, there has been a decade of financial sacrifices by teachers and students, and “it’s time for this university system administration to get serious about education”.