After months of obstacles and negotiations, faculty members will receive their first pay raise in three years.

According to a press release, the California Faculty Association has signed an agreement with the California State University Administration and Board of Trustees that will grant the faculty a 3.5 percent general salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2005.

The increase was granted after the faculty association called for a cooling down period, which occurred after the board of trustees proposed for faculty to accept a raise that would be linked to a merit pay program.

The strings that were attached to the salary proposal are not an unusual strategy in collective bargaining, the faculty association’s bargaining team said in a press release. However, they were disappointed because the proposal contradicted the statement that the chancellor would provide them with quick salary relief.

The faculty association also felt that the proposed merit pay program would divide the faculty and become problematic.

Cecil Canton, chapter president of the faculty association’s Sacramento State chapter and a professor for the division of criminal justice, said that the faculty association would not have agreed to a program that would divide the faculty.

“It was a problem in the past,” Canton said. “We will not allow it to happen again.”

The raise was essential for faculty to keep up with the cost of living in California, Canton said.

“We have not had a raise in three years and cost of living in California, especially in Sacramento, has gone up tremendously,” he said.

The faculty’s bargaining team said in a press release, “- the general salary increase is necessary to keep all faculty up with the cost of living and must not be treated as a pool from which to reward only a few.”

The faculty association’s focus now turns to junior faculty members.

“Our main concern is junior faculty,” Canton said. “Their salary is still not comparable and they are still underpaid for their high workload.”

Lila Jacobs, vice president of faculty association’s Sacramento State chapter and professor in Education Leadership and Policy Studies, agrees with the inequity of the junior faculty’s salary.

“The current pay rate (for junior faculty) is a poor statement as the value of their services, they deserve more,” she said.

The agreement sparked different reactions among the members of the faculty at Sac State. Canton has mixed emotions about the agreement. He mentioned that the faculty should not have to fight for something they earn and that other members of the CSU deserve more.

“It’s nice to get what you deserve and the faculty deserved this and more,” Canton said. “On the other hand, we shouldn’t have to fight for what we deserve.”

The staff, Canton said, also deserves more.

“Our staff deserves a raise. We’re all in this together,” he said.

Jacobs agreed that there are other issues that need to be negotiated. “It’s never over until it’s over,” Jacobs said. “Even with the general salary raise, junior faculty hired since 2003 were not given increases, so they will still be behind.”

Linda Goff, head of instructional services, is relieved of the compromise between the two parties.

“I’m glad to belong to a strong union that can represent my interests and help improve the educational environment at the CSU,” she said.

Jacobs also believes that faculty association is a strong union.

“I am always confident in the union … ,” Jacobs said. “With the union fighting for fairness and equity, the administration knows that they will be challenged when things are unfair.”

According to a press release, the faculty association is hopeful that the compromise is a signal that each of their issues has a solution.

The faculty association and Canton are addressing their attention toward the upcoming special election to fight against Propositions 75 and 76 and maintain the union’s strength.

Propositions 75 and 76 require written employee consent for political contributions and limits state spending on school funding, according to the California Voter Foundation Web site.

“Now, during this critical special election season, all of us need to realize that our faculty union needs to maintain political clout ?” not only to further our campaign to rebuild the CSU, but also to continue the struggle for a fair and equitable contract,” said John Travis, the faculty association president.

“We have to continue negotiating, and defeat the governor’s initiative in the special election,” Canton said.

Nika Megino can be reached at [email protected]