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news:
Contract talks
hit stalemate
Maya Yamane
On-line Forty-Niner
The California
Faculty Association and California State University system
have been granted an extension of their previous contract
that expires this month.
The extension was
granted because an agreement had not been reached on a new
contract.
The CFA declared
an impasse after the negotiations failed, according to Ken
Swisher of the Chancellor's Office.
"We have not
been making progress lately," Jim Smith, communications
director for the CFA said.
The Public Employee
Relations Board, which oversees labor in the state, did not
grant the impasse.
The two groups,
which have been in negotiations since spring, will try to
work out the issues at a meeting scheduled for July 16, Swisher
said.
"We're hopeful
that we'll reach a settlement," Smith said. "If
we don't reach an agreement at the next meeting, an impasse
will be declared."
If an impasse is
declared, the relations board will appoint a mediator to help
both sides come to an agreement. Using a fact-finder, a hearing
will be held where both sides will press for agreements, Smith
said.
A three-member
panel, consisting of representatives from the CFA, the CSU
and a neutral party, will be appointed by the relations board.
The CFA wants higher
salaries and wants to end merit pay, which is based on faculty
performance, Swisher said. The CSU wants to award faculty,
and is willing to forgo merit pay this year.
"This year
may be somewhat of a moot point," Swisher said. "When
you take a portion of the 2 percent pay raise it doesn't leave
much room for merit pay."
"There are
some serious issues," Smith said, referring to year-round
operations, faculty workload and tenure tract faculty, among
other things. "We have our work cut out for us."
According to Smith
the CFA represents approximately 20,000-22,000 faculty, librarians,
counselors and coaches from the 23 CSU campuses.
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