News Editor
The California Faculty Association is encouraging faculty from all 23 California State Universities to vote to reject the 2 percent general salary increase offer from the Chancellor’s office to “Fight for Five” percent instead. Faculty will vote on the issue from Oct. 19 to 28.
A yes vote means a rejection of the 2 percent offer along with their promise to join and support the CFA at the Nov. 17 Board of Trustees meeting held in Long Beach.
This also means that faculty members will strike should the salary dispute continue. A no vote signifies satisfaction with the current offer and refusal to further campaign.
“We are asking for fair and earned salary increases for 2015-2016,” wrote CSU East Bay CFA President Jennifer Eagan in an official CFA statement. “We know it’s the right thing to do, and we know we’re going to have to fight for it.”
According to additional information provided by the CFA, there are many reasons why a salary dispute and even striking are necessary for faculty compensation.
“On average, CSU faculty earned $45,000 per year before taxes and other deductions in Fall 2014,” it reads. “More than 50 percent of CSU faculty made less than $38,000 in gross earnings.” It also argues the wages between the faculty, and the CSU presidents they work for, highlight “widening inequality.”
“Full-time equivalent CSU faculty lost $9,056 in purchasing power, while CSU campus presidents’ average salaries gained $22,917 in purchasing power,” states the CFA informational packet.
Additionally, the teacher-to-administrator ratios are disproportionate.
“Even as the number of tenure-line faculty declined, the number of administrators increased 19 percent over the last decade,” it says. “About half of these administrators earn more than $100,000 per year in base salary.”
The information implies this leaves faculty with less-than-ideal job experiences.
“In a large CFA survey, 60 percent of faculty respondents to the survey reported being unable to afford housing in the community where their campus is located…A shocking 79 percent of faculty respondents to the survey say they would not recommend their job to students or to colleagues at other institutions,” it says.
