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opinion:
our view
Contract reaches
impasse
After one last unsuccessful
attempt to arrive at a compromise in a meeting on Monday, the
California Faculty Association and the Cal State University
system are at an impasse. The only hope for a resolution now
is with an officially designated mediator, as neither side is
willing to budge in negotiations.
The fate of the
faculty will reside with the discretion of the mediator in
deciding on whose numbers to believe. As it is with most contract
negotiations, both sides can examine the same situation and
come away with entirely different scenarios.
The Chancellor's
Office sees a system full of well-paid teachers compared to
the national average, and a retirement program that stifles
the hiring of many new teachers.
The teacher's union
sees a system with ballooning enrollment and only one new
tenure-track position added as compensation. They also have
numerous complaints regarding benefits and compensation, but
those are expected in all contract negotiations.
Given the amount
of the differences, the question of merit pay should be the
easiest to resolve. The Chancellor's Office was willing to
forgo it for this year, and the Teacher's union would rather
see pay increases for everyone.
One potential stumbling
block to the whole issue is a potential recession, which would
make the question moot. Either way, with booming enrollment
some money should be around to further compensate our already
overworked teachers.
A middle ground
regarding faculty salary increases and benefits will have
to be found, and both sides will have to settle for the outcome.
But given the length and rancor of the negotiations, any compromise
will leave both sides unhappy.
Striking is always
an option for the teachers, no matter the outcome. For the
sake of the students, the chancellor's office should make
some effort to reach out to the union and make some concessions
to ensure no
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