(March 25, 2007) -- CSU faculty union and & administration officials today announced a ten day extension of the current faculty union contract (to April 6) during which no concerted strike activities will take place while a so-called "fact finder's report" -- which claims CSU faculty are significantly underpaid compared to comparable institutions -- will be used as a framework for settling ongoing contract negotiations.
The "fact finder's" report claims CSU faculty lag in double-digits behind "comparable institutions" and recommends a 25.37% raise over four years plus 10% in "service step increase" pay.
A CSU release said, "The CSU has attempted to reach a settlement that uses the fact finder’s report as a framework, and will continue to work with the faculty union bargaining team to finalize the details. The specific details of the settlement efforts will not be made public until it is accepted and finalized."
CSU Board of Trustees chair Roberta Achtenberg said in the release, "We have indicated both to the fact finder and to the faculty union that we are willing to use the report as the basis for an overall settlement agreement. We are hopeful that at the end of this process, we will have a finalized agreement so that we can move forward with getting our faculty their salary increases."
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said in the release, "The settlement discussion tracks very closely with the fact finder’s recommendations and shows substantial movement from our offer of November 20, 2006."
The announcement comes just days after CSU trustees voted to raise student university fees by 10%.