California Faculty Association, Northridge Chapter May 18, 2006 Faculty Senate Report
CFA would like to report the following this month:
In the coming weeks the FMI/SSI settlement letters will be distributed to campus faculty. Please note that CFA has sent several communiqués to faculty and chairs alerting them to these potential letters and to the fact that these are critical to open and read (see attached). Please help make this important alert known to your faculty, especially those who may be working away from campus over the summer.
Recent decisions by the CSU have been hit on by the media and politicians. Decisions like those regarding the controversial hiring of a former chancellor, the CSU’s failure to advocate for additional funding with state legislators in a time of financial windfalls, and many others call into question the management by the CSU and the abilities of current management team to lead this large public institution. To date we had been largely immune to the slings and arrows that the UC has suffered recently, but no more. Yesterday we heard on this campus the first call for a possible state legislative takeover of the CSU because of such administrative actions. After recently lobbying in Sacramento and the tone of those discussions, it is my personal opinion that such calls may become more vocal in the coming months and this body and the faculty should be aware of them prior to any controversy erupting over the summer.
On May 25 the CFA will hold a rally to protest Trustee Hauck in Beverly Hills (see attached handout). This is the second such protest in a planned campaign against various Trustees, selected campus presidents, and the Chancellor to support bargaining and force recognition of the very real issues we face as faculty. This office would advise CSUN faculty that such protests may happen at any time and at any CSU related event.
As noted in several reports to this body over the last few months, CSUN’s chapter of CFA has requested that President Koester address the faculty on the issues critical to the future of faculty and to that of this campus – namely that she address the CSU’s positions with respect to bargaining of a new contract and the take backs they are seeking (too see what CFA is asking for please note the attached email from April).
Attached to this document is a letter sent to President Koester from the Union absolving her of any liability for such discussions. With that issue settled, we would request that in early Fall the administration and the campus community engage in a series of discussions wherein such issues can be addressed. To assist in that process, CFA sees three constituents that would benefit from directed discussions – senior faculty, junior faculty and lecturers. We would hope that the President would hold specific and focused forums with each group in the opening weeks of the academic year and address the contract proposals that are being advocated on their side of the table. CFA would be happy to send representatives to these forums to address the issues form the union perspective.
Thank you for considering these critical issues and sharing the information herein with your colleagues around your department and colleges. Have a good summer.
Sincerely,
James David Ballard
CSUN CFA Chapter President. FMI/SSI NOTE MAY 2006
Dear CSUN faculty,
As we approach the end of the spring term and the beginning of summer vacation season we felt the need to alert you to a critical issue that may be missed in the rush of papers, tests and graduation. In the next few weeks to a month the CSU will be sending out an important message/letter to faculty members who qualify for FMI/SSI adjustments and regarding a settlement of the FMI/SSI issues at CSUN and around the CSU. Many CSUN faculty members (several hundred is our best estimate) will be receiving letters about their potential cases and about the actions they need to contemplate to get what they deserve from this settlement. Please do NOT throw these letters away without reading them carefully and without considering what they mean. A great many CSUN faculty members may, repeat may, be eligible for some form of compensation based on what was done by the CSU in years past, but not if they ignore the letter and directions therein. Only those who are potentially eligible for an adjustment will be sent letters from the CSU. If you get one of these letters you need to read your letter closely and follow its directions carefully.
Your CFA chapter will be available to help but you need to take the first step and be sure not to discard the letter that will be forthcoming. Good luck, have a good summer, and join us on May 25, 2006 for the protest against Trustee Hauck in Beverly Hills where we are fighting for a better contract and fair treatment by the CSU. Please contact your CFA office at 818.677.5919 or [email protected] to RSVP or ask for details if you have not seen the flyers and emails on this important event.
Dave Ballard CFA CSUN Chapter President LETTER FROM CFA STATEWIDE, MAY 2006
Dear President Koester,
The California Faculty Association believes that one of the most important delineators of a healthy higher education campus is the willingness of faculty, students, and administrators to engage in the full, open, and honest debate of issues of importance to their community. In that context, we have found it disappointing, at best, that you appear unwilling to engage in such debate concerning fundamental issues of faculty employment on the Northridge campus. This disappointment is heightened by the fact that you serve as an advisor to those administrators currently negotiating the employment conditions under which faculty will work for many years into the future.
Why is this important? We believe that the faculty at CSUN would like to know what is your view of the appropriateness and workability of merit pay in the CSU. Likewise, do you believe that the quality of education suffers when faculty are asked to teach increasing numbers of students or a number of courses or course sections which limits the ability of faculty to personally engage, mentor and/or otherwise serve the needs of students in the educational process let alone meet the various professional requirements incumbent on faculty. A third question may be - How would you ameliorate the impossibly high cost of living for faculty in the Northridge area or meet the needs of junior faculty who literally struggle to make financial ends meet?
CFA is not alone in its concerns, and indeed, the authors of California's higher education collective bargaining law, HEERA, took pains to codify the tradition of open debate on campus, even in a collective bargaining setting by noting: "The people of California have a fundamental interest in the development of harmonious and cooperative labor relations between the public institutions of higher education and their employees." [(HEERA Section 3560 (a)] and "It is the policy of the State of California to encourage the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and learning through the free exchange of ideas and among faculty, students, and staff of the ... California State University. All parties subject to this chapter shall respect and endeavor to preserve academic freedom...: [HEERA Section 3561 (c)]
Despite both law and tradition, it is my understanding that you have refused to openly (or privately) discuss the critical issues facing your faculty, alleging that to do so would not honor the law but rather violate it through the commission of what is called an unfair labor practice. It is CFA's view that such would not be the case, but to offer you whatever assurance you may need, CFA hereby pledges that it will file no charges against you should you choose to exercise your leadership and enter into a discussion of critical issues with your faculty and with the various CFA representatives who have been elected on the Northridge campus.
The issues facing the CSU faculty at this juncture are grave ones. It is literally the case that one must contribute to the debate and solution of these issues, or become part of the larger culture that allows their continuation -- and thus part of the problem itself. Please reconsider your position. Your campus and your faculty deserve nothing less
Regards,
Ed Purcell
CFA Dir. of Rep.
CFA SALARY PROPOSALS APRIL 2006
Dear CSUN'ers,
With negotiations completed over summer employment (YRO) in time for Summer 2006, your CFA bargaining team will focus next on salaries and problems with inversion, Compression, CPEC lag and others.
CFA Bargaining Team Chair and CFA President John Travis reported to the 64th CFA Assembly in LA over the weekend that, "There is a crisis in pay; there is a crisis in equity." Travis went on to say that "Our salary structure is a mess," and "It's been allowed to erode to a state that there's no quick road to a solution. It has left junior, senior and lecturer faculty alike angry and frustrated."
The Assembly adopted a set of salary principles to assist in guiding our bargaining strategy:
1. Reduce the CPEC salary lag (projected to reach 18 percent next year overall, even higher for certain ranks)
2. Guarantee Salary Service Increases (SSIs) without reducing General Salary Increases
3. Correct inversion and compression problems
4. Obtain movement beyond the top step for full professors
5. Remove the SSI salary cap in each rank
6. Provide a fair GSI for each year of the contract
"We not only need more money, we need to construct a way to eliminate the problems," Travis said.
CFA has heard from junior faculty members throughout the system regarding inversion and compression, which lead to new hires being paid thousands of dollars more than faculty members employed for some years. In assembly discussion one Sacramento State faculty member called this the "experience penalty" referring to the fact that those who have proven their worth to the institution over several years of service are penalized by such pay discrepancies and those who have yet to prove their worth are rewarded.
Serious inequity abounds for top-step senior faculty members as well. They depend on GSIs when they reach the top of the salary scale, and when there are no GSIs - even just to keep up with inflation - they make no salary gains.
"We have a traditional and specific salary proposal on the table, but our first priority is to make the administration take a comprehensive look at the salary structure and just not think in terms of GSIs and SSIs" added Travis.
In particular, CFA has proposed 5 percent GSIs annually for three years, and four 2.65 percent SSIs-one each year over the next three years plus one retroactively. The team has also proposed that resources be set aside to address inversion and senior faculty salary lag.
For more on CFA's bargaining, go to http://www.calfac.org/bargaining.html