The California Faculty Association (CFA) came to a tentative agreement with the California State University (CSU) to extend their collective bargaining agreement two years. CFA represents 28,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches throughout the CSU.
The agreement will provide faculty a 3.5 percent general salary increase Nov. 1, 2018 and 2.5 percent raise July 1, 2019, with no added benefits according to the CFA announcement. The agreement is an extension of the current contract, so all other aspects of the contract will remain unchanged. The contract will expire June 30, 2020.
“We on the CFA Bargaining Team believe that this is a very good agreement both for the faculty in the CSU and for the university,” CFA President Jennifer Eagan said in the CFA’s announcement.
The agreement came after two weeks of bargaining. The last time CFA collectively bargained, talks stalled weeks away from a strike that would have left students without a week of classes. The CSU Employees Union, which represents CSU staff, is in its ninth month of bargaining.
“While the preparations for a strike in 2016 were painful for both the faculty and students alike, this tentative agreement is further proof that the demonstration of our resolve was required,” CFA San Luis Obispo President Graham Archer said in an email. “It is only when faculty stand together that our bargaining team can produce results.”
The contract will only become official if over 50 percent of CFA voters approve it in October and the CSU Board of Trustees ratifies it in November.
According to CFA’s announcement, the agreement also proposes joint effort between the CFA and the CSU to discuss issues such as academic freedom, intellectual property and salary structure.
“This agreement provides certainty for CSU faculty against future economic instability and allows us to collectively engage in long-term efforts that are critical to achieving our ambitious student success-related goals as outlined in Graduation Initiative 2025,” CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White said in an email. “We look forward to working with CFA leadership to reinforce with legislators in Sacramento how those goals will drive the future success of California and their vital role in supporting it.”