Union officials are urging their members to approve the four-year agreement…even though it does NOT include pay raises.
"This was a tough one. We were not successful in getting wage increases."
Lillian Taiz is President of the California Faculty
Association. She says it wasn't realistic to pursue higher wages
since the state keeps cutting higher-education dollars.
"This whole contract battle was not only about wages. It
really was about a whole bunch of things."
…"things" Taiz says such as more parental leave for younger
faculty with babies.
Claudia Keith with the CSU says the pact comes after two years
of negotiations.
"We are grateful that we've come to an agreement during
what are very difficult budget times."
Ketih says CSU has agreed to form a joint-committee on class
size. Faculty say classes are getting too large and that's
undermining quality.
Union members will vote on whether to ratify the contract from
August 13th through the 30th.