Thursday, March 26, 2009

SETC Lawsuit, CFA Impasse

A couple of recent CSU labor items:

SETC Sues CSU

The State Employees Trade Council-United, which represents Bargaining Unit 6 in the CSU, has filed a lawsuit alleging that the CSU violated the state education code by not paying its members at the generally prevailing rate as required by law.

Links


CFA At Impasse, Urging Arbitration

The California Faculty Association (CFA) reopened negotiations with the CSU after the CSU declared it didn't have the money for raises already negotiated for the current fiscal year. The CSU has not moved from its initial proposal of 0% GSI, 0% SSI, and 0% equity pay increases.

The CSU has been vague about where the money's going. From the CFA bargaining report:

The real circumstances are made even murkier by the fact that, despite the budget difficulties in the CSU, the Chancellor's bargaining team has not argued that the CSU lacks the money to pay the raises. Rather, they have argued there are competing demands that come before the negotiated raises in the faculty's contract.

The Chancellor's Office has not specified these "competing demands." With the layoffs of Lecturers and student services staff, the elimination of course sections, the refusal to pay raises, the cramming of more students into classes, and all the other cuts to instruction, it appears that the students and the classrooms are not among the competing demands.

CFA does examine MPP (management personnel) salaries each October, and clearly MPP salaries have increased during the past 18 months, so that's one possible priority.

Links


From the "Could Be Worse" Department

While it's probably fair to say unions bargaining with the CSU are frustrated and disappointed with the lack of progress, at least CSU negotiations never go as badly as this:

French Workers Hold Boss Hostage: Hostage-Taking a Part of Extreme Labor Negotiations in France (ABC News)

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