California Faculty Assn calls for a strike authorization vote....
The California Faculty Association, representing faculty, librarians, coaches, and counselors at the nation's largest public university, the California State University, announced earlier this week that a strike authorization vote will be held on all 23 campuses during mid-April. Contract negotiations reached impasse last November after more than 18 months of unsuccessful bargaining. The CSU and CFA are currently in mediation.
The last time CFA called for a strike authorization-- in 2007-- over 80% of the membership participated and over 90% voted in favor of a walkout-- we're mostly those same folks still, facing this all over again, but after five demoralizing years of declining budgets and eroding state support for higher education. It's not my sense that faculty have mellowed any in the interim. The CSU Chancellor unilaterally and arbitrarily cancelled modest raises we negotiated for the last two years of the last contract, which expired two years ago, asked us to take a 10% pay cut via furloughs, and is currently trying to force the union to accept further take-backs and contract concessions that will profoundly change the nature of the CSU.
We're fighting back.
Solidarity!
--Mike C.
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