The Issue:  According to the California Faculty Association website, The California Faculty Association (CFA) has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the California State University because the CSU is unable to pay for a salary increase negotiated in their union’s contract.

The California Faculty Association (CFA) “…is the exclusive collective bargaining representative for the California State University faculty. In that role CFA negotiates a contract with the CSU administration for the faculty, promotes academic freedom, upholds faculty rights, delivers financial protection for the faculty, and promotes faculty participation in the governance of the CSU and of CFA.”

According to the CFA’s website, the CFA Director of Representation, Bernhard Rohrbacher filed an Unfair Practice Charge with the Public Employment Relations Board.  View the complaint here.

The complaint says that since the Governor cannot force the CSU to make budget cuts and can only make recommendations that the CSU Chancellor is volunteering to cut $31.4 million out of the California State University Budget.  The faculty contract says that the Chancellor has to pay a 5% cost of living increase to the faculty and a 2.65% merit increase this year unless the Governor doesn’t provide the funding.  Since the cut isn’t being forced, they want their 7.65% pay increase.

Analysis:  The faculty are unable to see the big picture

CFA is a union and unions exist to serve their own interests.  They have no regard for the greater needs of the economy or of the industry they represent.  The $12 billion budget gap California has didn’t exist when their salary was negotiated.  Since we have it now, the CSU will have to take a cut and some of that cut will affect faculty.  This isn’t a workers rights issue.  This is a situation where the CSU faculty is making rediculous demands during poor economic times.

In a national economy that has seen job losses every quarter for the last 2 years, the faculty should be happy they aren’t being laid off, but their not.  They want a 7.65% raise as well.  Untimately that raise would have to be paid for by increasing tuition on the students.  This is of no concern to the CFA as long as they get their raise.

The Governor cannot force the CSU to make budget cuts, but he certainly doesn’t have the money to pay the bills.  The Chancellor can either take the neccessary measures to ensure the healthy functioning of the state’s education system, or keep dreaming like the California Faculty Association seems to be doing.