CSU, faculty union hold last-ditch talks before strike

The California State University administration and the California Faculty Association have agreed to hold a 48-hour blackout period, which includes no media communications on both sides, as they try to hammer out a deal on a pay raise for teachers for this school year.

The black-out period went into effect Wednesday and continues through Thursday.

“During this quiet time we hope to develop an agreement that not only settles this contract reopener but also can lead to an improved relationship between the faculty and the CSU administration,” said Jennifer Eagan, the CFA’s president.

A pre-strike rally in support of faculty by students from Cal Poly’s “Students for Quality Education” group was canceled to honor the blackout.

The faculty is seeking a 5 percent raise and the CSU has offered 2 percent, leading to an impasse. A fact-finding report released during an arbitration process said the CSU should offer its teaching staff a 5 percent raise, plus other increases for 43 percent of the faculty making less than more recently hired colleagues.

The CFA has authorized a teacher strike across the 23-campus CSU system for April 13 through 19, which would coincide with Cal Poly’s Open House, scheduled for April 14 through 16.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "CSU, faculty union hold last-ditch talks before strike."