Employee update from the Chancellor's Office
Note: the following e-mail was sent on 9/16/11 to all faculty and staff from President Robert A. Corrigan
Dear colleague,
Attached, please find an employee update from the Chancellor's Office, which we have been asked to share with you.
--Robert A. Corrigan, president
September 16, 2011
CSU Employees,
The California State University was unable to come to an agreement with the faculty labor union (CFA) regarding salary adjustments for the 2009-2010 year and the matter went to the legally mandated fact finding process. Specifically, under the collective bargaining agreement, if the state did not fund the Higher Education Compact, the general salary or service salary increases for that year could be reconsidered. By mutual decision, both sides agreed to just that. The non-binding report from the fact finder, which is the last step in the bargaining process, has just become public and can be found at: www.calstate.edu/LaborRel/Contracts_HTML/bargaining_updates.shtml
To us, there is an absence of "facts" in the report. It glosses over the dire budget situation and what we all faced in 2009-2010. That was the year that the state cut our budget by $584 million. It was also the year when nearly every employee -- faculty, staff, administrators, presidents and the chancellor -- were furloughed and took an approximate 10% pay cut. That was also the year that enrollment was cut by 40,000 students, tuition raised by almost $1,000 and an additional $183 million was cut from CSU campuses and Chancellor Office budgets.
Despite this grim 2009-2010 financial picture, the fact finder recommended that the CSU spend over $20 million in pay increases to a small group of faculty. This would be in addition to the $13 million already spent that year on promotions, range elevations, market increases and merit increases for faculty. The report called the $20 million a "minor salary adjustment," but here is what $20 million means to the academic program:
- 315 full-time temporary faculty jobs; or
- The marginal cost to admit 2,800 students; or
- 3,150 course sections/classes
There is no doubt these are challenging times, and our employees have done a remarkable job under trying circumstances. But, it would be inappropriate and unreasonable to provide a $20 million salary increase to a fraction of one employee group in light of everybody's sacrifice during that time and with today's budget climate. We recognize that our faculty and staff have not received across the board pay increases in years; that is why we are advocating for a 3% compensation pool in our 2012-2013 State Budget to fund increases for all employee groups.
CSU's priorities must remain focused on providing a quality academic program while serving as many students and retaining as many jobs as possible -- therefore we must reject the report’s recommendations and maintain the CSUs final offer. We know how severe budget cuts have impacted employees and students, and we remain committed to working toward the restoration of the state's investment in the CSU.
Regards,
--Gail Brooks, vice chancellor human resources
