The faculty at Fresno State might go on strike for five days this semester.
The California Faculty Association (CFA) announced Monday the dates of the potential five-day, systemwide strike from April 13 to 19.
“Faculty is at a point where they are saying enough is enough,” said Diane Blair, a Fresno State communication professor and the CFA campus chapter president. “It is time to reinvest in faculty and when you invest in faculty you are reinvesting on the classroom.”
The CFA members, who are bargaining for a 5 percent salary increase, are in the last step of the process where both the California State University Chancellor’s Office and CFA have to explain their positions to a state-appointed independent fact finder, Blair said.
The fact finder will then review the argument to present a written report, which makes recommendations of who is in the right and how both parties might resolve the conflict.
Once the report is received it will remain private in the hopes that either party will be willing to renegotiate.
“It is in [the chancellor’s] power to come back to the table and continue bargaining with us,” Blair said. “It is a possibility for the strike to be halted in an event the chancellor’s office is willing to negotiate the salary increase.”
If no satisfactory resolution to the contact is reached before April 13, participating faculty, from the 23 CSU campuses, will picket at all major entrances of the university, making it one of the largest strikes in the history of higher education in the US, said Blair.
“We are asking faculty to cancel their classes on those days and not show up to their meetings or anything else that they would normally have on their schedule,” Blair said. “We are going to be letting students know that there aren’t going to be classes and they can stay away as well.”
CFA said the strike will in no way prevent any student from graduating or completing their coursework this semester.
“For those of you concerned about what this strike will mean for our students, please keep in mind that this strike will not prevent any of our students from graduating or finishing their courses this semester, but the continual disinvestment in faculty hurts our students every day,” said Blair in an email notifying faculty about the finalization of the strike dates. “We have an obligation to ensure the academic mission of this university system. With this action we are fighting for our own economic recovery and for quality education for our students.”
Knowing the dates of the strike well in advance faculty will have time to make adjustments to course schedules to accommodate the strike, Blair said.
“Faculty care about their students,” Blair said. “We don’t want this to hurt our students, but at the same time we feel like we have to take action on behalf of ourself and our families. We think that is very much connected to our student learning conditions. Students and faculty are in the same boat.”
In a release sent Monday, Fresno State university communications said the campus respects the collective bargaining process and knows the CSU remains committed to reaching a solution.
“Our primary goal at Fresno State is to allow students to have access to classes and we are working to finalize a plan to ensure that they are able to complete their semester and graduate on time,” the release continued.
Blair encourages students to email the chancellor’s office and motivate him to avoid a strike by considering the faculty’s request.
“The chancellor hears from us all the time, but I think the more he hears from students it would be a good thing,” Blair said. “If he knows that students are supporting faculty and what to see their faculty fairly compensated that might help.”
The CFA local chapter also aims to gain support from Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro.
“We are hoping President Castro and the other campus presidents will recognize the seriousness of the situation and do what they can to be supportive of faculty and urge the chancellor to come back to the table before we have to shut down their campuses,” Blair said.