News Editor
The California Faculty Association has announced the union will strike on April 13 to 15, 18 and 19: five days to represent their “Fight for Five” negotiation campaign with the CSU chancellor’s office. The chancellor has offered a 2 percent raise but the CFA is adamant on receiving 5 percent, a number they feel better represents the rise in cost of living expenses and the rate of inflation.
For CSU Bakersfield, the dates fall at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth week of the spring quarter and for the campuses on the semester system, the 12th and 13th week. The negotiations are currently in the fact-finding stage, but CFA members are using this time to prepare.
Southern California Lecturer Representative for the CFA Board of Directors Chris Cruz-Boone said the days were chosen carefully, as they must wait 10 days after the fact-finding report goes public
“Legally, it is the soonest we can walk out,” Cruz-Boone said.
For teachers participating in the strike, they cannot engage in any work-related activities such as teaching classes, reading or responding to email, grading or attending office hours or meetings.
Though there is a possibility negotiations could resolve before the April dates, the proposed strike efforts would involve all 23 CSU campuses and be the “largest strike in the history of higher education,” according to a CFA press release.
“There’s never been a strike of this scale in our country,” said Cruz-Boone. “We would make history.”
The chancellor’s office responded to the strike dates announcement with a statement on their “Labor Negotiations Updates” page.
“The CSU remains committed to reaching a solution…If a strike occurs, campuses intend to remain open. Many classes will be offered, and students should check with their instructors regarding the status of their classes,” it read.
Cruz-Boone, however, said the job of the picketers will be to block entrances to campuses, halting any food delivery and there is no way to estimate how much the disruption will cost the CSU, though she said “It is going to be substantial.
Future and previous CFA negotiation coverage can be found in the Runner archives online.
