CSU contract agreement prevents strike
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

A tentative contract agreement reached on Tuesday between the California State University system and union officials has prevented walkout strikes by the union's 24,000 members and ends more than two years of fruitless negotiations between the two groups.

The terms of the $400 million deal give all faculty members a 20.7 percent salary increase over the next four years. In addition, CSU will give extra increases to eligible faculty members- boosting the overall raise to about 25 percent- and will also spend $28 million to fund two new merit-based programs for both senior and junior faculty.

If the 23-campus university system, the largest in the U.S., receives an injection of expected state money, the faculty will be paid an additional 1 percent for each of the contract's last three years.

The deal helps bridge the salary gap between CSU faculty and professors in other states by raising base salaries for tenure-track faculty members from $74,000 to $90,749 and tenured, full-time professors from $86,000 to $105,465 by the end of the four-year contract.

California Faculty Association officials agreed to postpone their statewide twoday rolling walkouts until the deal is finalized by both union members and the administration. Once the union members accept the deal, the CSU Board of Trustees will be given final approval.

"We have a tentative agreement that will be good for the CSU, good for our students, good for the faculty," said John Travis, union president and Humboldt professor in a written statement. "Through this agreement faculty will make real progress toward closing the pay gap between us and our colleagues in other states."

Lillian Vega-Castaneda, a California State University at Channel Island's professor and president of the union's local chapter, said faculty members are "relieved" a settlement has been reached and that professors can now focus on the students, not contract negotiations.

"CSU employees including our faculty are the university's greatest asset," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed in a written statement. "This agreement strikes a realistic balance between providing deserved raises to our faculty and our limited financial resources. The recommendations of the neutral fact finder provided a roadmap to settle both economic and noneconomic issues."

According to union officials, the new contract will likely be sent out to the membership for final approval in late April.