The California State University (CSU) system and the California Faculty Association, the union representing 23,000 instructors, librarians, counselors and coaches, decided it was better to agree than make history.
Nowhere has there ever been a faculty strike affecting 460,000 students across 23 campuses in a statewide system in the nation.
But a strike set to last from April 13 to April 19 was averted when both sides announced a deal pending approval by union members and the CSU Board of Trustees.
Highlights of the tentative agreement released Friday include:
It’s a 10.5 percent raise over time. Currently, 60 percent of instructors are temporary lecturers making an average of $28,000 a year. Full-time, tenured professors earn an average of $85,000 a year.
The state had held steady to just a 2.5 percent raise, until the Public Employees Relations Board and a neutral arbitrator determined that 5 percent would be more appropriate. And then more money was found.
The tentative deal addressed the No. 1 concern of union members.
