The California State University (CSU) announced today that it is prepared to agree to the vast majority of the recommendations contained in a neutral factfinder report addressing negotiations between the CSU and the California Faculty Association (CFA). The report was made public today following a state-mandated 10-day “quiet" period.
“We believe that the factfinder's report offers many thoughtful recommendations and a pathway to resolving all of the open issues," said Leora Freedman, vice chancellor for human resources. “CSU is prepared to get back to the bargaining table with CFA at any time to reach a fiscally sustainable agreement that provides salary increases for our valued faculty."
The independent factfinder provided recommendations on all open issues, which fall into 15 categories. On 13 of the 15 categories, CSU indicated in its response that it is prepared to agree to the factfinder's recommendations, subject to bargaining with the CFA. These recommendations include increasing paid parental leave from six to eight weeks, and improving the alternative paid workload reduction program for faculty with new children by increasing the workload reduction from 40% to 60%. Recommendations also address issues such as minimum pay ranges for lecturers, additional pay for department chairs, workload, personal leave, counselor ratios, gender-inclusive bathrooms and lactations spaces, parking and other issues.
On salary, the factfinder recommended using changes in the Consumer Price Index for goods and services (CPI-U) to propose a 7% general salary increase plus other adjustments. CSU has proposed 15% in general salary increases for faculty over three years, plus additional increases that would make some faculty eligible for up to 20.3% in salary increases. CSU's proposal would provide general salary increases for all faculty that exceed the anticipated increase in the CPI-U over the next three years.
CFA has demanded a 12% general salary increase for one year, which would cost $380 million in new recurring spending. For context, CFA's salary demand would cost $150 million more than the funding increase that the CSU received from the State of California for all operations in 2023-24.
“CSU strives to provide fair, competitive pay and benefits for all of our employees. We recognize the need to increase compensation and are committed to doing so, but our financial commitments must be fiscally sustainable," said Freedman.
The CSU has reached agreement with four employee unions representing about 26,000 employees. The CSU has yet to reach agreement with the CFA and Teamsters Local 2010 who represent skilled trade employees including electricians, plumbers and facilities maintenance workers. The CSU is at impasse with the Teamsters and will begin the statutory factfinding process with the union in the next few weeks.
The CFA has announced that it will conduct one-day strikes next week at four CSU campuses.
“We respect the right of our labor unions to engage in strike activities, and we are prepared to minimize any disruptions to our campuses," said Freedman. “Our hope is that the planned strike activities pose no hardships on our students and that we can get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible with the CFA to come to an agreement."
For more information, view the factfinder's report on the CSU Labor and Employee Relations website.
About the California State University
The California State University is the nation's largest four-year public university system, providing transformational opportunities for upward mobility to nearly 460,000 students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. More than half of CSU students are people of color, and nearly one-third of them are first-generation college students. Because the CSU's 23 universities provide a high-quality education at an incredible value, they are rated among the best in the nation for promoting social mobility in national college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly. The CSU powers California and the nation, sending nearly 127,000 career-ready graduates into the workforce each year. In fact, one in every 20 Americans holding a college degree earned it at the CSU. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU newsroom.