The California Faculty Association’s demands for a five percent salary increase for its members as well as an extra 2.65 percent increase for lower paid faculty need to find compromise with the CSU administration.
A possible compromise would be to instead have a three percent increase for general faculty and 1.65 percent increase for lower paid workers. This would allow CSU employees to have a better chance at a normal standard of living and allow possible opportunities to benefit the students with improved programs and facilities.
The issue is CFA members feel underpaid and behind the purchasing power for the cost of living. They desire an increase in their salaries so they can be able to keep up with the purchasing power and not have to struggle to get by.
“What do they want to spend their money on? They want to spend it on administrative salaries,” CFA Chapter President Doug Domingo-Forasté commented.
The CFA originally agreed to a three percent pool general increase after negotiating salaries for 2014-2017 where about half received 1.6% and others received smaller pieces, according to Forasté.
The Chancellor’s Office made an offer for a two percent increase in the 2015-2016 year as well as in the 2016-2017 year.
The CFA would not accept under the belief that the economy would get better and they would receive better funding.
It is understandable when schools can’t afford to give consistent increasing pay raises due to budget cuts, lack of funding, crippling economy, etc. etc. but when the CSU system allotted for a $65.5 million budget plus an additional $269 million in state funding for the 2015-2016 year, five percent would seem a small price to pay.
The problem with this would be that this much of an increase would cost nearly $102 million. There is no indication that raising the salary of CSU faculty would lead to a reduction in administration salary. This kind of shift in the university’s budget could lead to cuts in other equally deserved areas such as enrollment growth, better degree programs and other services to help students.
The CFA has moved to strike if their demands are not met or a compromise is not made in the voting period during October 19-28, according to the CFA. The strike would not begin until Spring 2016.
This could also have serious consequences, as students will lose class time from the higher education they pay thousands of dollars and are in debt to have.
Both sides have their legitimate points. Better compensation to keep up with the growing prices is more than deserved and needed, but what also needs to be kept in mind is the purpose of education is to help the students towards a successful future.
A compromise however is possible here; perhaps a wage increase of three percent for CSU faculty as well as an additional 1.65 percent increase for lower paid employees could serve as a better balance between the two sides and save about two million dollars to fund other educational areas. This could allow faculty to be able to keep up with the cost of living and help benefit students in their academic careers.
