After
arguing for
months that its members are underpaid and need a significant salary
bump to make up for years of stagnation, the California State University faculty
union and CSU management failed to reach an agreement last week on a new
contract.
While
the university offered 2 percent raises to all employees this year, the
California Faculty Association wants a 5 percent compensation hike for its
members, with additional 2.65 percent boosts for those at the lower end of
their pay ranks. The CSU administration rejected that plan, which would cost
about $102 million, for taking up too much of the budget increase it just
secured from the state.
The
negotiation is now set to enter a fact-finding phase, but the faculty may be
gearing up for something bigger: Today marks the start of a 10-day union vote
on potential actions, including a
strike, should the contract talks continue to falter. Faculty on two
campuses held a one-day strike in 2011 to protest recession-era cuts, and the
faculty authorized a strike during its 2007 contract negotiations, but
ultimately settled.
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