Last week, CFA’s Bargaining Team and Chancellor Reed’s representatives held the first in a series of scheduled mediation sessions aimed at breaking the logjam in faculty contract talks.

Mediation is the second step in the “statutory process” outlined in state labor law. When the two sides in a negotiation get to the point where they are not making progress, they bring in a neutral mediator in an attempt to help them get back on track.

While mediation is a confidential process, CFA leaders remain hopeful that Mediator Tony Butka will be able to find enough common ground between the sides that he can get them talking again.

“We hope the mediator can complete the process as efficiently and quickly as possible, knowing that our faculty members need a fair contract,” said CFA Bargaining Team Chair Andy Merrifield (Political Science, Sonoma State).

In addition to mediation, Merrifield addressed the CSU Trustees’ Collective Bargaining Committee that met today, a day before the Trustees’ regular meeting at the Chancellor’s Office.

“We came to mediation last week, the first meeting of mediation, with clear written proposals. The mediation process is and should be confidential, so I won’t go into the specifics of our proposals, but they addressed issues explicitly important to both sides. The outcome for day one was something of a disappointment, We hoped that things would have moved faster.

“Still we continued to agree to more dates - we had requested more dates even before the first meeting, and the day did not change our minds. We still want a fair contract, at the table – soon – so we can work together for the benefit of our students, our colleagues and the people of California. On our part nothing has changed. We believe in the process and a fair contract."