California Faculty Association, Northridge Chapter
November 30 2006
Faculty Senate Report
Dear Senators, Students, Guests and Administrators:
CFA was asked to submit a written report for the November 30, 2006 Faculty Senate
meeting and to be ready to answer questions. In our opinion three items need to be
discussed at this time: 1) current state of contract talks and related CSU/CFA interactions,
2) November 15, 2006 rally at the Chancellor’s Office, and 3) potential for significant
CSUN based job actions in the Spring 2007 semester.
1. The current status of contract bargaining is that the CSU and CFA are in
mediation talks (3 day long sessions since the last Senate meeting have transpired,
one is scheduled for Dec 15, 2006). While a state of contract impasse currently
exists as defined by PERB, CFA has repeatedly asked that the CSU return to the
table and once again to start seriously working to get faculty members a fair
contract. Their response to date has been muted and fixated on their terms
already offered. To summarize, their offers have had little movement towards the
normal give and take of bargaining and generally remain as they have been for
months on the major issue of salary. Additionally, the CSU has embarked on an
information campaign about their months old offer and emails to this effect are
circulating currently. Likewise, the CFA is informing faculty on their
interpenetration of the facts and this old offer from the CSU. Faculty should read
both carefully.
At the last mediation meeting on Monday November 20, 2007, the CSU
seemingly retreated from previously negotiated articles in a regressive bargaining
mode. The CFA will respond to the CSU proposals at the next meeting between
parties but faculty should be aware that the CSU has taken what could be termed a
more aggressive posture in mediation and in my opinion any contract gains
secured in nineteen months of bargaining may become jeopardized by their
regressive bargaining tactics as they seek to retreat from their previous positions.
In support of the CFA’s request to return to bargaining, the organization
marshaled 1500 faculty, staff, and students to attend the November 15, 2006 rally
noted in item #2 below. Additionally, the CFA filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles
Superior Court against the CSU on the issues of executive perks in an attempt to
stem the tide of excessive senior executive pay after leaving CSU employment
and designed stop the misappropriation of funds from the CSU’s primary mission
– teaching – and towards various highly placed CSU administrators in “golden
parachute” arrangements.
For details on either CFA action noted above please see http://www.calfac.org/ or
the campus CFA website at http://library.csun.edu/calfac/.
2. On November 15, 2006 in Long Beach, CA, your CFA brought together a
substantial group of faculty, staff, and students to protest the current working
conditions in the CSU, the lack of a fair and equitable contract after nineteen
months of bargaining with the CSU, the walkouts by the CSU in said talks and
subsequent breakdown in contract bargaining, and other critical faculty contract
issues. Approximately one thousand faculty members from around the CSU
system (including a bus from this campus) and an additional five hundred other
supporters gathered for the largest protest in the history of the CFA.
Primary among the issues is the phantom offer of a “salary” raise by the CSU.
Serious disagreements exist on many issues here but primarily the lack of
specifics on their proposed merit plan is of great concern and the budget
contingency language is likewise troubling. Together they show the lack of a
clear, concise, and well articulated plan by the CSU to systematically structure
faculty salaries on all campuses to address problems of salary inversion, salary
compression and the lack of opportunity for faculty career salary progression in a
logical way on a rational salary structure. The CFA plan does address these
issues for all levels of faculty members and will help close the CPEC gap, address
inversion and assist in solving compression issues in a meaningful way over the
contract period. For side by side comparisons of the CSU and CFA proposals and
specific details on the two salary proposals see http://www.calfac.org.
3. If the process of mediation fails to secure a contract and subsequent mandated
contract processes (fact finding, etc) drag on into the New Year, typical campus
life and the service to our students/community could be jeopardized. It is entirely
possible that by the Spring semester the CSU and CFA would be in an adversarial
contract position necessitating job actions up to and including a campus by
campus (aka rolling) or system wide strike (estimate April 2007). Planning for
said contingencies are well underway and specific and targeted CSUN based
actions are planned as a result of these contingencies. Faculty should be aware
that CSUN has been and will continue to be one of the target campuses for the
CSU-CFA contract conflict and we will most likely see significant job actions
sooner rather than later in the process. These actions may include significant
disruption to campus life and includes other plans to be used as needed to secure a
contract and better the working conditions for CSUN faculty members and
equally as important, secure better learning conditions for our students.
If CSUN faculty members wish to comment on these ideas or offer additional suggestions
for securing a contract with the CSU please have them contact their CFA office on
campus. We can be reached at 818.677.5919 or cfa.office@csun.edu.