The following statement was released today by the California Faculty Association (CFA), an AAUP affiliate representing some 26,000 faculty members at all 23 campuses of the California State University system. 

Today the California Faculty Association announced that its Board of Directors has set dates of a potential strike on all 23 campuses of the California State University system.

The five-day strike will occur April 13-15 and April 18-19, 2016 unless the required statutory process yields an agreement.

If a strike takes place, all faculty work on behalf of the university will halt.

“We’ve said all along that we don’t want to strike, but we will if we have to,” said Dr. Jennifer Eagan, CFA President and Professor of Philosophy and Public Affairs & Administration at Cal State East Bay.

“We must take a stand so that we can support our families, protect our profession, and provide high quality education for our students,” Eagan said. “A strike is our last resort and we still hope that the Chancellor will invest in the faculty who are the major determinant of our students’ success.”

For the last two years, CFA has waged a “Fight for Five”— a 5% General Salary Increase for all faculty. Chancellor Timothy White and CSU management have repeatedly rejected the 5% General Salary Increase and instead have offered only a 2% increase.

In October, CFA members voted to strike if contract negotiations with CSU management fail to result in a fair deal.

Dr. Kevin Wehr, Chair of CFA’s Bargaining Team and a Sociology Professor at Sacramento State, said, “The Chancellor and his team of negotiators have failed to respect CSU faculty throughout this entire process. They do not appreciate the value faculty provide to students even though 50 years of research shows that the most important factors in helping students succeed are the teachers devoted to that success.”

“Sadly,” Wehr added, “too many CSU faculty members are falling out of the middle class or unable to rise into it. That is painfully ironic given that the very purpose of a state university is to open the doors for our students to become middle class.”

The talks began in May 2014 and are now in factfinding, the final stage of the statutory process spelled out in state law. During factfinding, a neutral third party is chosen to hear both sides. Together with a representative from each bargaining team, the neutral third party writes a factfinding report that recommends how a settlement could be achieved.

After a 10-day blackout period, during which the sides can study the report and perhaps reach a settlement, the factfinding report becomes public. At that point, the faculty will have the right to strike.

For more information, visit the Fight for Five on the CFA website: calfac.org/fight-for-five.

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA FACULTY ASSOCIATION: CFA represents more than 26,000 tenured and tenure-track instructional faculty, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches on the 23 campuses of the California State University system, from Humboldt State in the north, to San Diego State in the south. Learn more about CFA at www.calfac.org