Local CFA has low turnout

By Matthew L. Green
Summer Forty-Niner

With the lowest voter turnout systemwide, local union faculty members voted to accept the tentative labor contract with the California State University last month, according to the union’s Web site.

About 39 percent of Cal State Long Beach union members showed up to vote on the contract, down 8 percent from the local union vote on the first tentative contract, which was rejected.

About 76 percent of union members at CSULB voted to pick up the second tentative labor contract, with about 80 percent of members at all campuses giving the contract the nod, said Hamdi Bilici, local president of the California Faculty Association, a union representing about 20,000 CSU professors, lecturers, counselors, coaches and librarians.

“They [faculty members] were sick of the dispute,” said Bilici, referring to the bitter labor negotiations that have lasted for more than a year. “Nobody thought the contract was perfect. It was just something we have to live with.”

The CSU Board of Trustees last week gave final approval to implement the contract.

“It was a very generous, benefitial contract for faculty,” said Ken Swisher, manager of media relations for the Chancellor’s Office. 
“There were a lot of compromises on both sides. We believe it’s the beginning of a new cooperative relationship with the faculty union.”  With 78 percent of their union members voting, Cal State Bakersfield and California Maritime Academy tied for having the largest voter turnout.

Also California Maritime Academy approved the contract the most, with all of its members voting for it. 

Cal State Pomona was the only campus to reject the deal, with 55 percent turning against it.

Under the three-year agreement, CSU faculty receive an across-the-board raise of 3 percent for the 1998-99 academic
year, up 0.5 percent from the contract the CSU forced faculty to accept in March.

The contract is retroactive, starting during the 1998-99 academic year. 

Because the contract goes into effect retroactively,

CSU faculty would get back pay for the 1998-99 academic year. 

Along with merit pay, faculty members could grab a raise of up to 12.9 percent.

Also new faculty would not have to fight with tenured faculty for pay raises based on merit, contrary to the first tentative
agreement. If new faculty members satisfy minimum performance standards, they will get a 2.4 percent raise for 1998-99 and
2.65 percent raise for the next two years, 1999-2001.

Also all lecturers receive two-year contracts.

Faculty receive these benefits under the contract if the CSU is granted the budget money it has asked the state for.

The negotiating tables may be empty now, but union and CSU leaders will be back to negotiate another contract next year because one year of the contract is up and the union negotiates the next contract before the new one expires.

Highlights of the labor struggle

February: Cal State Long Beach and statewide union leaders recommend its members vote to reject the tentative deal; about 57 percent of CFA members systemwide reject it. Faculty are working without contract.

March: The CSU Board of Trustees imposes a contract upon all faculty members without faculty consent.

April: A statewide CFA committee gives every campus union the permission to strike.

May: CFA and the CSU negotiators agree on a second tentative contract; CFA members systemwide vote to accept it.

June: The CSU trustees give final approval to handing faculty the contract; faculty members are now working under a contract.