Updated Thursday
The California State University (CSU) and California Faculty Association (CFA) announced Thursday a tentative agreement for the wage dispute which has postponed a threatened strike.
Leaders of both the CSU and CFA will announce the tentative agreement on the reopened contract Friday, the CFA stated through an advisory.
“The proposed five-day faculty strike, slated to begin on April 13, will be postponed pending approval and ratification of the agreement by the CFA board of directors and membership,” the statement from CFA read.
The CFA if striving for a 5 percent general salary increase agreement opposed to the 2.65 percent service salary increase offered by the CSU.
“Once ratified by the CFA membership, the tentative agreement will be voted on by the CSU board of trustees at the May 24-25 meeting,” the statement continued.
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Updated Wednesday
The California Faculty Association and CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White will resume “Fight for 5” negotiations Wednesday in hopes of avoiding a looming faculty strike.
“Prodded by the release of the fact-finder’s report and the looming April 13th strike date, the parties decided to try talks once more before CFA leaders on all 23 campuses shut
the entire system down,” Jen Eagan, the CFA president, said in an email to the faculty.
“CFA was gratified that the chancellor expressed the same concerns we have highlighted for some time about the toll a systemwide strike could take on the CSU,” she said.
For the next 48 hours, both parties will be observing a blackout period in which neither party will talk to the news media in order to give both sides the room they need to potentially come to a tentative agreement.
“During this quiet time, we hope to develop an agreement that not only settles this contract reopener but also can lead to an improved relationship between the faculty and the CSU administration,” Eagan said.
Diane Blair, Fresno State CFA chapter president, said faculty have agreed not to engage in any strike preparation work or interview with the media during this blackout period.
“If a tentative agreement is not reached, we will be back to our strike prep work on Friday,” said Blair.
