With California State University faculty contracts expiring Thursday, some fear that a systemwide strike may follow.

CSU faculty members go through times of uncertainty like this periodically, said immediate past president of the Sacramento State chapter of the California Faculty Association Jim Chopyak. After contracts expired last year, the faculty and the administration were able to come to a rollover agreement, he said.

“Extensions or rollovers like this are usually done to give faculty members protection while negotiations take place,” Chopyak said. “The California Faculty Association entered into (last year’s) extension in hopes that an agreement that would satisfy both sides, would be made quickly. Unfortunately (for us) the CSU has a reputation for dragging its feet,” Chopyak said.

In response, CSU Media Relations Specialist Paul Browning said the CSU has made every effort to present what it feels is a fair and substantial offer in the shortest amount of time possible. It has not dragged its feet but has instead taken the necessary steps in the amount of time allotted to it, he said.

“(The CSU) has come up with an excellent compensation offer that would improve and increase faculty compensation by close to 25 percent over the next four years,” Browning said. “If the CFA decides to accept this offer, the average CSU full-time professor would have a six-digit salary by year three. This added to the fact that the faculty has great health and dental benefits, which are 100 percent covered by the CSU, makes it a great offer.”

While Browning is unsure of how negotiations will go he said that he is hopeful that an agreement will be made.

Even though contracts are due to expire this week there are still two scheduled negotiation dates on Dec. 1 and Dec. 4, where an agreement can be made, Browning said.

“Beyond that, a finalized report is not expected to be filed until April,” Browning said. “What we are looking for right now is proper mediation for both sides.”

While Browning understands how this situation could be stressful for CSU faculty members he does not see how a strike would help.

“I don’t know if (faculty) members will strike but I hope that they won’t,?” Browning said. “We are still in the process of negotiating and I don’t see how it would help anything.”

Chopyak, on the other hand, hopes that the faculty would be willing to take a strong stand, if it is deemed necessary, and strike.

“Striking) is the last thing anybody wants to do,” Chopyak said. “But there is a possibility that it might be the best thing we can do. Sometimes you have to deal with short-term hardships to get long-term benefits.”

Chopyak said if the entire faculty decides to strike that it will most likely be in the form of rolling strikes where one university like Sacramento or Fresno would strike first then Humboldt and so on. Strikes would not mean shutting the entire system down, he said.

While striking may be a possible solution for Chopyak, CFA Communications Specialist Brian Ferguson said that the possibility of a strike is a long way off.

“We are still in the process of negotiating and will continue to be until January,” Ferguson said. “There is still a chance that all this will be settled then.”

Even though the CFA doesn’t see striking as an immediate option the CFA Assembly did authorize the faculty’s ability to strike at a Sacramento meeting in October, Ferguson said.

Chopyak said the deciding factors in whether faculty will strike will be the CSU’s response and student interest.

Ashley Evans can be reached at [email protected]