SAN FRANCISCO (NEWSnet/AP) — California State university faculty members reached a tentative contract agreement after nearly 30,000 professors, librarians, coaches and other workers went on strike at the nation's largest public university system.
Members of California Faculty Association will return to work Tuesday instead of continuing a planned, weeklong walkout to demand higher wages, California Faculty Association said.
The deal, which must be ratified by union members, “reflects the solidarity displayed by faculty, staff, and students across all 23 campuses,” the association statement said. “To all the hard-working faculty who have been organizing on the street and on campus, your efforts have earned this victory.”
CSU Chancellor Mildred García praised the agreement.
“I am extremely pleased and deeply appreciative that we have reached common ground with CFA that will end the strike immediately,” García said in a statement. “The agreement enables the CSU to fairly compensate its valued, world-class faculty while protecting the university system’s long-term financial sustainability."
The systemwide work stoppage came two weeks after CSU officials ended negotiation with a unilateral offer starting with a 5% pay raise in 2024, effective Jan. 31, far below the 12% hike the union was seeking.
The tentative agreement involves a 5% raise retroactive to 2023 and another 5% raise on July 1. It also increases the minimum wage for the lowest-paid faculty, according to the union statement.
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