The California State University (CSU) and the California Faculty Association (CFA) announced Monday evening that they have reached a tentative agreement to end what was supposed to be a statewide, week-long strike by employees after just one day.
The deal will give all 29,000 faculty from the CSU’s 23 campuses a 5% raise retroactive to July 1, 2023. An additional 5% salary increase for faculty will kick in on July 1, 2024. The CFA had been asking for a 12% general salary increase since the start of bargaining.
“The collective action of so many lecturers, professors, counselors, librarians, and coaches over these last eight months forced CSU management to take our demands seriously,” said CFA President Charles Toombs in a statement. ”This Tentative Agreement makes major gains for all faculty at the CSU.”
Other highlights of the tentative agreement include:
· Raising the salary floor for our lowest-paid faculty in salary Ranges A and B: $3,000 increase in the minimum pay for Ranges A and B retroactive to July 1, 2023; additional $3,000 increase in the minimum pay for Range A on July 1, 2024.
· Salary Step Increase (SSI) of 2.65% for 2024-25.
· Increasing paid parental leave from six to 10 weeks.
· Increasing protection for faculty who have dealings with police by providing for a union rep in those interactions.
· Improving access to gender-inclusive restrooms and lactation spaces, and a pathway to monitor issues of access.
· Providing support for lecturer engagement in service work. Extending the current contract for 2022-24 one year to June 30, 2025.
“I am extremely pleased and deeply appreciative that we have reached common ground with CFA that will end the strike immediately,” said CSU Chancellor Mildred García in a statement. “The agreement enables the CSU to fairly compensate its valued, world-class faculty while protecting the university system’s long-term financial sustainability. With the agreement in place, I look forward to advancing our student-centered work — together — as the nation’s greatest driver of social mobility and the pipeline fueling California’s diverse and educated workforce.”
Now that an agreement has been reached, CFA members will have an opportunity to ratify the contract in the coming weeks.
Monday saw hundreds of faculty from Stanislaus State cancel their classes and demonstrate at the corner of W. Monte Vista Avenue and Geer Road in Turlock. The strike, which would have lasted through Friday, coincided with the beginning of the spring 2024 semester. With the strike now called off by the CFA, students were advised to look for messages from their instructors regarding adjustments to their scheduled classes.
