CSU, Faculty Union Reach Tentative Agreement on Four-Year Contract

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The California State University announced on April 3, 2007 that it reached a tentative agreement with the California Faculty Association that provides all CSU faculty with base pay increases of 20.7 percent over a four-year period, as well as step increases for those eligible, making the package worth 24.87 percent.

In addition to these increases, $28 million will be provided in the form of merit and equity increases that will provide raises for senior faculty who have reached the top of the pay scale, as well as boost junior faculty compensation. The CSU will seek an additional 1 percent increase for all employees compensation in state budget funds in each of the next three years.    

The base salary increases (General Salary Increases) will raise the average salary for a tenure track faculty member from $74,000 to $90,749 and the average salary for a full time, full professor with tenure from $86,000 to $105,465 by the end of the contract period.

“CSU employees including our faculty are the University's greatest asset,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “This agreement strikes a realistic balance between providing deserved raises to our faculty and our limited financial resources. The recommendations of the neutral fact finder provided a roadmap to settle both economic and non-economic issues.”

This report was made public on March 25, 2007.  

The total pay package, which will cost the CSU more than $400 million over four years, breaks down as follows:

  • 20.7 percent in guaranteed salary increases for all faculty in the form of General Salary Increases;       
  • 1 percent step increase (Service Salary Increase) in each year of the contract; because these increases are only paid to approximately one-third of all faculty members each year, these individuals will receive an additional 2.65 percent boost to their salaries when eligible;       
  • $28 million set-aside to provide two new merit-based pay programs targeting both junior and senior faculty, and       
  • An additional 1 percent in each of the last three years of the contract, contingent on receipt of additional state budget funds.       

The CSU also accepted the fact finders recommendations to establish a salary structure committee to examine faculty compensation issues and to increase faculty parking fees commensurate with their General Salary Increases in each year of the agreement.

“We are pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with our faculty union,” said Roberta Achtenberg, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees.  ”This is good news for everybody, including our 417,000 students, and we look forward to moving ahead with getting our faculty their salary increases.”

Chancellor Reed expressed appreciation for the efforts of the CSU negotiating team.

“I would like to thank CSU Vice Chancellor Jackie McClain and her staff for their outstanding work in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion,” he said.

If the tentative agreement is ratified by the membership of the California Faculty Association, it will then be submitted to the CSU Board of Trustees for approval.