CSU Faculty Doesn't Want to Have to Strike, But They Might

For 20 months now the CSU faculty has been negotiating with the CSU Chancellor's office for a new contract. They have reached an agreement on everything but salary increases. CSU faculty lags well behind the national average for similar state institutions. They have even fallen behind the Community College faculty members' salary. The inequity is causing a dispiriting, but predictable brain drain from the faculty.

Last April, 40 percent of junior faculty members at California State University, Sacramento, with less than six years of experience said they were considering quitting, according to a campus survey. In November, it rose to 54 percent.

Several have already found new jobs.

"A lot of it was driven by being fed up with Sac State, to be honest with you," said government professor Chris Witko, who is taking a better-paying job at St. Louis University in the fall after only a few years at CSUS.

CSU pays 13 to 23% below the average of 20 peer academic institutions. The proposal by the CSU Chancellors office would not even approach the closing that gap.

The strike vote starts today and will continue through the next two weeks. There is an independent fact-finding report currently being compiled. If it does not bring both sides back to the table and the strike authorization vote passes, then we may see rolling strikes by professors in the spring. They would occur campus-by-campus basis. It is the last option for these professors. They would much rather teach their classes than be on the picket line, but they may have no other choice but to exert that sort of leverage on the Chancellor's office.

There is much more over at the California Faculty Association page, including a set of illuminating charts and graphs. Lucas also has a post up on Calitics. The SacBee has a good chart of what sort of an increase CSU faculty would need to receive to equal the average salary of peer institutions.