As we reported recently, CFA and the CSU are currently in mediation, one of the steps in the "statutory" collective bargaining process outlined in state labor law.

Several faculty members have asked for a summary of the issues in dispute in the contract talks. While the mediation process is confidential, this brief overview outlines a few of the areas of disagreement.

Potential permanent cuts to benefits and salaries
Among the most troubling issues is the Chancellor's insistence on gaining the ability to unilaterally re-open the Salary and Benefits articles of our contract in 2012/13 and 2013/14. If this were to come to pass in a new contract, the Chancellor could demand to re-open our salary and benefits and unilaterally impose cuts to our benefits and permanent reductions to our salaries. Given that the CSU budget is larger today than it was in 2007 when our last contract was negotiated, we must not allow the administration to use the budget as a pretext for imposing cuts.

Workload and class size
As we know from personal experience, the number of students per faculty member is rising, jeopardizing the quality of students' education. CFA has stressed that the last 20 years has seen a huge increase in the ratio of students to tenure-track faculty. The Chancellor's representatives have suggested that since they believed other universities did not put meaningful limits on faculty workload, the CSU should not have to either.

CFA is pushing for improved workload language, so that we would have a system in which shared governance processes were used to establish standards; the collective bargaining agreement would be used to enforced those standards.

CFA proposal regarding intellectual property and online education
CFA's proposal regarding intellectual property and online education would provide new rights and protections for faculty members. It is critical that faculty's intellectual property, including online products and videos of faculty lectures and presentations, be protected.

CFA's proposal makes clear that the work product of individual faculty members, such as lecture notes, instructional texts, and syllabi, may be used by the faculty member for non-CSU purposes unless the CSU has provided "extraordinary support" in the development of this material.

CFA also proposes that individual faculty members have exclusive ownership of any video or audio recording of their lectures, seminars, performances, etc., and that the CSU cannot utilize such without an agreement with the faculty member.

Lecturer "take-backs" proposed by Chancellor Reed
The Chancellor proposes to weaken Lecturer contract rights in significant ways. In our current contract, Lecturers have a right to a three-year appointment after six years of continuous, satisfactory service to the CSU. Under the Chancellor's take-back proposal, three-year appointments would be up to the campus president's discretion. Lecturers would no longer have a right to a three-year appointment.

Currently, part-time Lecturers have preference to receive additional work that may be available, instead of the work going to new hires. The Chancellor's take-back proposal would eliminate incumbent part-time Lecturers' preference for additional work.

CFA's bargaining position on salary
I noted above that under the Chancellor's proposal, he could impose a permanent reduction in our salaries. CFA is mindful of the economic climate and has put forward what I believe to be a reasonable salary proposal. CFA proposes implementation of Year 2 of the Equity program and Salary Step Increases for all who are eligible. CFA also proposes a 1% general salary increase (GSI) in three of the next four years (with a possible higher GSI if the CSU budget reaches a threshold funding level). As a point of comparison, consider that in mid-August the UC President proposed a 3% salary increase for the UC faculty.

Continuing our support for our contract
Achieving a strong contract at the bargaining table is only possible if the faculty continue to stand up in support of our contract. During the course of the Spring semester, we will let you know when tangible faculty support is needed.

I will provide you with updates on bargaining for our new contract as information becomes available.