CSU faculty to vote on strike

October 19, 2015

Cal State University system faculty will begin voting Monday on whether or not to authorize a strike on CSU campuses.

The faculty union is currently engaged in a labor dispute with the CSU system. The California Faculty Association is demanding a 5 percent salary hike with additional increases for years of service.

The chancellor’s office is offering 2 percent salary increases. There is a $68.9 million gap between the union and CSU salary proposals, according to the chancellor’s office.

The California Faculty Association represents 23,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches who work for the CSU system, according to the union website. The union members will have 10 days to vote on the authorization of a strike.

A majority vote in favor of a strike would not guarantee a walkout. Strike authorization votes are common during labor disputes, and faculty union officials must still decide whether or not to call a strike.

In May, Cal Poly faculty members protested the discrepancy in pay between university administrators and professors. The Cal Poly faculty union said university spending on administrators increased by 43 percent between 2010 and 2014.

Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong responded saying $2.5 million has been set aside for faculty pay increases over the next four years. The university would begin by giving pay increases to the staff members who need them the most, Armstrong said.

Armstrong received a 2 percent salary increase in July when CSU trustees approved a 2 percent raise for campus presidents and other executives in the university system. Armstrong now receives a base salary of about $400,000 when including supplemental pay he receives from the Cal Poly Foundation.