Students and faculty alike at California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State), can finally breathe a sigh of relief as a tentative agreement between the California State University system and the California Faculty Association has been reached, avoiding the strike that was previously planned for April 13-15 and April 18-19.
The tentative agreement comes after a year-long dispute between the CFA and CSU over faculty salaries and grants all faculty unit employees 10.5 percent in general salary increases over a three-year period.
The agreement must be approved by the CFA Board of Directors, ratified by CFA members and approved by the CSU Board of Trustees.
If approved, faculty unit employees will receive a five percent general salary increase on June 30, 2016, a two percent general salary increase on July 1, 2016, and a 3.5 percent general salary increase on July 1, 2017.The agreement also includes a 2.65 percent service salary increase for all eligible faculty unit employees in fiscal year 2017-18.
“The tentative agreement enables all of us to focus our efforts on serving students and spares students the negative impacts of the threatened strikes,” CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White said in a released statement. “The tentative agreement is consistent with our ongoing efforts to increase faculty compensation in a fiscally responsible manner by spreading the cost impact across multiple academic years, while enabling us to fund other priorities that support student success and completion.”
The agreement also doubles the vesting period from five to 10 years for retiree health benefits for new employees hired after July 1, 2017, and extends the collective bargaining agreement until June 30, 2018.
In addition, the tentative agreement bolsters the salaries for tenure-track faculty promoted into a higher rank. Under the proposed agreement, those granted promotions would receive a minimum 9 percent salary increase vs. the current minimum 7.5 percent.
Although some Stan State students were looking forward to not attending class during the strike, the lifting of uncertainty around the possible strike has relieved some stress from the middle of the semester.
“We are no longer wondering if we will have to attend classes or not,” Yamile Arroyo (sophomore, Psychology) said. “I think that it could have been negative to have a strike, due to the fact that some students would have to miss out on certain classes and still have exams following the strike. Although it is still not a 100 percent guarantee because it has not yet been agreed upon, I am glad that they have a tentative agreement that has helped prevent the strike.”
The tentative agreement has granted the chance for faculty to receive the raise that many students believe they rightfully deserve, ending a hard-fought battle by both sides.
“The professors deserve to get paid more, but I think it was mostly because the CSU system needs the professors,” Samantha Rosette (sophomore, Kinesiology) said. “Without the professors, there would be no school.”
Contributing reporters: Alondra De La Cruz and Jesus Alvarado