Despite Billions, CSU Still Refuses Equitable Raises for All Faculty

Faculty across the California State University system kept their universities afloat throughout the pandemic.

Professors, lecturers, and coaches balanced educating and coaching students even as classes moved virtual, and semesters went by without teams competing. Counselors consoled students as the pandemic raged on and racial violence increased over this trying year-and-a-half. Librarians showed everyone the importance of continuing learning through digital literacy.

All of this while simultaneously caring for children, immunocompromised family members and friends – and trying to find time for themselves.

Faculty stepped up immensely, as they always do. Beyond expressions of public gratitude and acknowledgment by the chancellor, it’s time for CSU management to do right by faculty with a deserved raise.

“For months, we’ve highlighted publicly and in bargaining negotiations the good work faculty did to earn a four percent raise for last year, this year, and next year,” said Charles Toombs, CFA President. “Yet despite publicly acknowledging the important role of faculty, management won’t agree to increase our pay.

“They say, ‘we just don’t have the money,’ even though the Chancellor has publicly acknowledged that the Governor’s signed budget for the CSU is historic.”

Throughout bargaining meetings, CFA member leaders have highlighted CSU spending, the system’s operational budget, and federal COVID-19 relief to show why a four percent raise is a more than reasonable proposal. The CSU’s budget is healthy thanks to faculty advocacy for a full restoration of $299 million to the budget, which was cut in 2020 due to COVID-19. State lawmakers increased CSU budget funding by five percent this year, and the system received $1.6 billion for institutional costs from federal relief funds.

Oh, did we mention the more than $1 billion in reserves?

The cost for a three-year, four percent general salary raise is $270 million over three years – or $90 million a year — based on the CSU’s own salary calculations.

CFA member leaders serving on the bargaining team also proposed two years of 2.65 percent service salary increases (SSIs) and post promotion increases (PPIs), as well as a commitment for the CSU to spend $20 million total to address salary inequity – primarily inversion and compression – that is exacerbated by lack of in-range salary progression. The cost for PPI raises for eligible faculty would be about $4.8 million a year.

Additionally, CFA members want to study and remedy, in coordination with management, disparity in pay that exits due to longstanding, structural and societal inequities.

Instead, management proposed a two percent general salary increase for a single year of a three-year contract for faculty; this increase would be a net-zero raise for some faculty because they are also proposing a parking rate increase for faculty on all campuses.

If managers got their way, faculty would not receive a raise.