CSU contract talks at impasse

By Kirstie Hettinga
The Collegian

The California Faculty Association and CSU System have failed to reach an agreement on issues including early retirement and pay raises.

In mid-September it was announced that the two organizations had reached an impasse after 18 months of negotiation.

Claudia Keith, the assistant vice chancellor for public affairs for the CSU System, said mediation would be a long process but it would not affect students. The contract that expired in June 2005 has been extended to cover the period of negotiation.

Michael Botwin, a professor in the psychology department and chair of the Academic Senate, would disagree.

He said because salaries are not competitive the best candidates are not interested in open positions at Fresno State. “It definitely will affect students, because if you can’t get your top candidates you don’t have your top instructors,” Botwin said.

In this year’s hiring the campus had 90 available positions and only hired 62. Botwin also said 26 percent of junior faculty throughout the CSU system are leaving after one or two years because they are receiving better offers.

About 60 percent of the faculty is full time, while the remaining 40 percent are part time. In addition to the limited time part faculty is on campus, Botwin said part time faculty cannot put their full dedication to Fresno State because they are working on multiple campuses.

“Their allegiance is split, so even though a lot of them are dedicated, if you’re working at three places trying to eek out a living, something’s got to give,” Botwin said.

Nationwide, there is an increasing reliance on part time faculty.

“We know that a lot of institutions are relying heavily on part timers, but I don’t think it’s a good thing for the [CSU] system on whole, for the students especially.”

Botwin said he believes the whole system is at risk and it is the responsibility of the Chancellor’s office to negotiate and get money from the state.

Botwin said the CSU system gets the leftovers in funding, even though he believes that it is one of the State’s greatest assets. “I’m really coming to the conclusion that the CSU is the poor stepchild of California,” he said.

Beyond salary increases, the Faculty Early Retirement Program and staff parking fees are also up for negotiation. But Botwin said salary is the major issue.

“Part of the problem is that we’re just not competitive,” Botwin said. “The average gap in salary between the university and our peer institutions is 16 percent, roughly, for full professors the gap is up to about 25 percent.”

Botwin said it is not just that faculty would like a pay raise. “In the realm of things, it’s not even so much as yes, everyone would like 25 percent more salary. It’s kind of inherent lack of respect of the Chancellor’s office in terms of these negotiations.”

Currently, the CFA is suggesting a 6 percent total compensation increase, while the CSU System would like to see the increase at 4 percent.

“No one got into academia with the intent of making big bucks,” Botwin said. “On the other hand when the erosion of salaries is affecting your lifestyle in a negative way that is a concern.”

Both parties would like to agree on a four-year contract. The CSU System has proposed a 24.87 percent increase over 36 months, provided the funding come from a compact with the Governor. The CFA would prefer a 30.45 percent increase that is not dependent on the governor and Compact Budget Agreement.

Botwin also said the university is becoming more and more corporate.

“There is this big push by the chancellor’s office, that I see in the very long run, to make every CSU student kind of a cookie cutter person. And I think one of the strengths of the CSU system is the diversity of the campuses,” Botwin said.

Beyond the salary issues and preserving the integrity of the CSU System, the California Faculty Association is also concerned with the Faculty Early Retirement Program and staff parking fee increases.

Currently, faculty members pay $12 per month for parking, in comparison to student fees of $15 per month. The CSU System is asking for faculty to pay the same amount as students.

“If I had a fair salary, I wouldn’t mind paying a fair share of parking,” Botwin said.

As for early retirement, the CSU System would like to reduce the maximum number of years allowed to work part time to four years, while the CFA would like to keep it at five.

“I think the Faculty Early Retirement Program is an important thing for senior faculty. I think it provides a really good transition into retirement for people,” Botwin said.

Paul Browning in the Public Affairs Office for the CSU System said the two organizations just didn’t agree and the System was disappointed with the failure to reach an agreement.

“We thought it was a very good, fair proposal,” Browning said.

According to Botwin the whole negotiation is “morale busting,” but he said, “This is a great job, no matter how much we complain about salary or anything else, this is a wonderful job.”

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