Union says rolling work stoppages will start April 10
By Robert Salonga The Salinas Californian March 30, 2007
The faculty union of the 23-campus California State University system announced Thursday the first wave of rolling strikes will begin April 10 if extended contract negotiations fail next week, but the Monterey Bay campus will not be in the initial group.
In a morning conference call with reporters, union officials said six CSU campuses would be the first to stage two-day faculty walkouts.
Instructors at the Los Angeles campus and California Maritime Academy in Vallejo would walk off the job April 10 and 11, while the Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Sacramento and San Marcos campuses would see strikes April 11 and 12.
Lillian Taiz, vice president of the California Faculty Association and a history professor at CSULA, said details about subsequent strikes at other campuses - including CSUMB in Seaside - would be announced after the first week of strikes and depend on how soon a contract can be agreed upon.
Taiz said the selection of the initial six campuses was based on a variety of factors including size, geography and campus schedules.
The union, whose membership includes about half of the system's 22,500 instructors, voted overwhelmingly over the course of a month to strike if an agreement cannot be reached.
Negotiations between the union and administrators over a new faculty contract have lasted two years, with instructors working under a contract that expired in 2005.
At issue are terms for a new contract through 2010. The university system's last offer would amount to a 24 percent pay increase when compounded over three years, administrators have said.
Union leaders, however, argue that the CSU system's offer is built on unreliable sources, such as discretionary pay, step increases already promised and assumptions the state will boost the system's budget.
The CFA wants a 25 percent increase over four years cut directly out of the system's $4 billion budget instead of contingent funds.
When the two sides declared impasse in September, they initiated the formation of an independent fact-finding panel that issued its report last week.
It generally favors the terms sought by the faculty.
On Sunday, when the report was made public and a decision was expected, the bargaining teams agreed to a 10-day extension of talks, which would end April 6.
The strikes are timed to begin soon after if an agreement is not reached.
According to the union, the average salary of a tenure-track CSU faculty member is about $70,000, not enough to stay competitive with other learning institutions or pressures to enter the private sector.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/NEWS01/703 300306/1002
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