E-mail Notice
The notice below was originally shared with the university community via e-mail.
September 18, 2006
Faculty Contract Negotiations Update
To: Humboldt State University Faculty
From: Rollin C. Richmond, President
After 18 months of bargaining, the CSU and CFA have not reached an agreement on a new contract. The CSU is disappointed that the negotiations have come to a halt in spite of an attractive salary offer that significantly reduces the salary gap. The CSU has offered reasonable solutions to unresolved issues, which include positive salary incentive programs for members of the bargaining unit, and minor modification to the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP), parking fees, and guaranteed protection of lecturer rights. I believe that the faculty, at the very least, should have had an opportunity to evaluate the most recent proposal put on the table by the CSU. Here are the details of the CSU proposal:
SALARY:
A 24.87 percent salary increase over four years, beginning in 2006/07, contingent upon getting the funding contemplated in the Compact with the Governor and an additional 1 percent augmentation for compensation. The increase would bring faculty salaries close to those of faculty at institutions used for comparison by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Salaries of CSU faculty currently lag behind those at comparable institutions by approximately 14 percent. After increases for cost-of-living, the current salary offer would provide an additional 12.5 percent toward closing this lag. Although this is a four-year agreement, all increases will be effective within 36 months.
INCENTIVE AND EQUITY PAY PROGRAM:
The CSU is proposing to set aside 3 percent of the total salary increase offer of 24.87 percent for incentive pay. The CSU proposal does not require the creation of new procedures to award incentive pay.
CONTINUATION OF FERP:
The CSU is proposing continuation of the FERP program with the modification to reduce the maximum number of years to four, thereby bringing it in line with actual utilization. The average faculty member is enrolled in this program for only three years.
HEALTH AND DENTAL BENEFITS:
CSU health and dental benefits are above the standard for California and other universities nationwide. The cost to the CSU for contributions for health and dental benefits for faculty unit employees is currently $120 million per year, and the cost of CSU contributions for retirement benefits for faculty unit employees is currently an additional $196 million per year.
NO CHANGES TO RETIREMENT BENEFITS:
The current proposal makes no change to faculty eligibility for PERS retirement, which includes lifetime medical and dental benefits.
MATERNITY AND PATERNITY LEAVE:
The CSU is proposing to form a committee to evaluate current policies for maternity/paternity leave. Currently, faculty members are eligible for 30 days of leave, which must be taken within 60 days of the birth or adoption of a child. Current CSU policy on this issue is among the best offered by any university.
EQUAL PARKING FEES FOR ALL:
The CSU is proposing that by the end of the four-year contract, faculty pay the same parking fees as students. The CSU faces increasing costs for the operation and maintenance of campus parking facilities and believes that these costs should not be disproportionately borne by our students.
LECTURER RIGHTS:
The CSU has proposed to maintain current lecturer employment rights.
The CSU is disappointed with the failure to reach agreement. The CSU will be asking the Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) to certify a declaration of impasse because we feel it is the only option to move forward. Under the law, any impasse must be certified by PERB. If impasse is certified, mediation and fact-finding is a lengthy process, which is out of the CSU‚s control.
I am disappointed that the CSU was not able to reach agreement with the CFA despite special efforts on the part of the CSU this year to do so. You deserve a raise, and the CSU proposal was a generous one. I regret that the CFA seems not to be acting in the best interests of those they are organized to represent.
Additional information about collective bargaining with the CFA can be found on the CSU website at: http://www.calstate.edu/bargaining-status/. The CSU will post a comparison of the CFA and CSU negotiating positions on the CSU website on Monday, September 18, 2006.
A copy of the Bargaining Status Report from Samuel Strafaci, Assistant Vice Chancellor, may be viewed at: http://www.humboldt.edu/~hsupres/