CFA Reach Tentative Agreement with CSU System

By Seamus Geoghegan

geogheganspg@gmail.com

The California Faculty Association (CFA) and the California State University (CSU) system reached a tentative agreement on Monday night, abruptly ending the largest university faculty strike in U.S. history. 

The agreement contains gradual pay raises for faculty over the next year amounting to a 12.65% increase, but is contingent on the state’s budget for the CSU system.

James Martel, a political science professor at San Francisco State, was unhappy with the contract, sharing the sentiments of many other CSU faculty members as well as the San Francisco chapter of the CFA (CFASF).

“I personally was very disappointed,” said Martel to The Golden Gate Xpress. “I thought that if we had been able to continue to strike, we would have gotten a much better contract.”

CFASF held a rally in response to the agreement on Jan. 25 at noon in Malcolm X Plaza. With many faculty members left unsatisfied with the agreement, CFASF didn’t rule out the possibility of further picketing, stating in their Jan. 23 press release, “If the Tentative Agreement fails ratification, further bargaining and strike actions could follow.”