FRESNO, Calif, — Ninety five percent of the California Faculty Association – the union that represents faculty at California State University system – voted to authorize a strike one week ago.
On the heels of a historic new teacher contract at Fresno Unified last week, professors at Fresno State are feeling a boost of motivation despite no strike date being announced yet.
Faculty have been comparing their situation to Fresno Unified, following their bargaining agreement last week.
“It's both exciting and it's also kind of animating certain folks who are beginning to see ‘Hold on, I'm looking at the salary schedule for FUSD instructors, and I'm looking at my salary and there's something that's not matching here,’” John Beynon, an English professor and chapter president at Fresno State, says.
Rising costs and paid family leave
Faculty at Fresno State say they are feeling the effects of higher living costs.
Beynon says there’s been an idea for a long time that “it's cheaper to live in the [San Joaquin] Valley than it is anywhere else and to a certain degree, that's still true.”
“I think that it's very difficult to live in, certainly, Silicon Valley or the Bay Area. Also Los Angeles San Diego these were expensive places to live,” Beynon says. “But the cost of living continues to rise in Fresno with housing scarcity and prices increasing all the time.”
Beynon says although Fresno State faculty may not be living in extreme situations, they still face uncertainty over basic financial decisions.
“‘Am I going to be able to ever buy a house? Am I ever going to be able to put those roots down and begin investing in property for my future?…Do I fix the car,” Beynon says.
Negotiations for a 12% pay increase, paid leave, and other safety accommodations started in June.
Beynon says although the pay increase has been at the top of people’s minds, paid family leave is at the forefront for many faculty members. However, he says, university administration has not paid much attention to that part of negotiations.
He says the union also wants more accommodations for families like lactation rooms for faculty who breastfeed.
Next steps
It’s unclear when a strike could actually start.
But Beynon says if there is one, most faculty from Fresno State will participate. The university is the largest four-year university in the Central Valley, serving over 23,000 students per year.
In a response to KVPR, the CSU Chancellors office said, “The CSU remains committed to the collective bargaining process and reaching a negotiated agreement with the CFA as we have done with five of our other employee unions in recent weeks.”
Kevin Wehr, a union vice president and professor at Sacramento State, told CalMatters the union wouldn’t want to pull a strike when most CSUs are on winter break.
Beynon says the union will begin next steps once a fact-finding report comes out from the union and administration.
