The California Faculty Association held a press conference at Sacramento State on Monday, March 28 to announce the recommendations made by the fact-finder about the CFA’s ongoing fight for a salary increase.

According to the report, Bonnie Castrey, who chaired the fact-finding panel, made the following recommendations:

– Increase faculty compensation this year with the general salary increase of 5 percent for all faculty.

– Provide step increases called SSI—Service Salary Increase— to the 43 percent of the faculty who are eligible for it.

– Develop ways to compare salaries among educators nationally and the cost of living.

– Ask the legislature and governor for more funding for the California State University.

“We are very gratified that the neutral fact finder has recommend the salary package we have asked for over the last nine months,” said Jennifer Eagan, CFA president and CSU East Bay professor. “For more than nine months, we have argued at the bargaining table that this package would benefit not just the faculty but the students we teach as well.”

Eagan said the California State University has the power to resolve the dispute, and it needs to demonstrate the will to do it.

The CSU released its own interpretation of the report on Monday, which said, “The report acknowledged that the university has no available funds to pay for an additional $70 million increase, and therefore funds would have to be reallocated from commitments made to unspecified programs.”

Eagan said CSU’s interpretation was inaccurate.

“The union has routinely had the facts on our side, and once again, management ignores those facts,” said Kevin Wehr, CFA associate vice president and sociology professor, said. “Continuing to bury their heads in the sand will not make this go away.”

Antonio Gallo, CFA contract development and bargaining strategy committee chair, said it was more than just about the faculty’s salary, it was about creating a just society.

“We must open those doors of opportunities to our students, but we must also equip our faculty to walk through those doors to provide that opportunity,” Gallo said.

The CSU has 16 days until the five-day strike scheduled on April 13-15 and April 18-19 to reach out to the CFA for negotiations.

“If and when the faculty go on strike, they will go on strike for fairness reflected in their salaries,” said Eagan, “but they will also strike for the hope of a better CSU for the future.”