The California Faculty Association and California State University management will start the fact-finding session next week. Several dates have been selected for the session, but they are confidential.
A three-person panel, one representative selected by each side and one by a third-party, has been selected, according to the CFA. The names of those on the panel have not been released due to the session’s confidentiality.
The panel will provide a majority report — written by one side and the third-party. This report will state the panel’s findings and suggest a resolution, according to the CFA. After a 10-day cooling-off period the report will be publicly shared.
The report is not absolute and the findings and resolution may not be implemented.
CFA members, in the next several weeks, will be voting whether or not to authorize a strike if the fact-finding session doesn’t prove fruitful.
“A ‘yes’ vote will send a powerful signal to management that we are prepared to withhold our labor to get the contract we deserve,” the CFA said. “This isn’t to say that a strike is inevitable, though it is a call to strike if we cannot reach a resolution.”
However, even if the majority vote yes on the strike, it does not necessarily mean it will happen.
“Many unions have had member-authorized strike votes but never ended up striking because [CSU] management saw the solidarity of workers and decided to make a deal,” according to the CFA.
To read more about current CFA updates, go here.
At this point, the type of strike has not been determined, and it is still unknown exactly when the strike could occur or how long it would last.
Faculty members, according to article nine of their Collective Bargaining Agreement, cannot legally strike until the statutory process — including fact-finding — has ended.
“The CFA shall endeavor to prevent faculty unit employees from participating in a concerted activity which would interfere with or adversely affect the operations or the mission of the CSU,” section 9.3 of the 2022-24 Collective Bargaining Agreement states.
If an agreement is not reached through the fact-finding session, the CSU can impose its “last, best and final offer” on faculty, according to the CFA. It is then the “no-strike” clause will be lifted and a strike can legally start.
To prepare for the possible strike, there will be two statewide “Strike Ready School” workshops on Oct. 12 and 19.
The first workshop, on Oct. 12, will “cover current contract demands, CSU’s manufactured austerity messaging and how we [faculty members] can push back and become strike ready,” according to the CFA.
The second workshop, on Oct. 19, “will provide a framework for union activism,” according to the CFA.
For more information, go here.
To strike, the following has to happen:
- Bargaining must finish
- CFA members have to call for a strike.
- The CFA must notify the CSU about the strike
In the event of a strike there will be no classes and assignments will not be graded.
The Orion has reached out to the CSU and the CFA Chico chapter and is awaiting response.
Ariana Powell can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
