An agreement was reached Monday night between California State University and the union representing the schools’ employees and faculty.
It came hours after the California Faculty Association had kicked off its five day strike.
The tentative agreement includes a 5% salary increase for all faculty retroactive to July 1, 2023 as well as a 5% salary increase for all faculty members on July 1, 2024.
The Cal State Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, Dominguez Hills, Pomona, and Fullerton campuses were impacted by the strike.
The California Faculty Association, which represents professors, counselors, lecturers, librarians, and coaches, announced the strike back in December.
The California Faculty Association was asking for a 12% raise, but Leora D. Freedman, the Acting Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at the California State University system, said the school needed to be financially responsible.
“If we were to agree to the increases that these unions are demanding, we would have to make severe cuts to programs,” she said. “We would have to lay off employees. This would jeopardize our educational mission and cause hardship to many employees.”
Freedman added that the five percent salary increase is “consistent with agreements” the school made with the other labor unions.
On Friday, the school reached an agreement with Teamsters Local 2010, which represents 1,100 skilled trade workers.
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Cal State Long Beach Professor Dr. Elaine Villanueva Bernal told L.A.’s Morning News’ Vicky Moore and Mike Simpson said five percent is not enough.
“For faculty like me, the five percent doesn't really do anything,” she said. “For me, for faculty like myself, lecturer, adjunct faculty who may not teach full time, this is about catching up. This is not about getting more pay. A pay increase [of] 5% does nothing. The chancellor's office has $8 billion in reserve so they can afford to do this.”
Dr. Bernal said that students would not be punished for missing class during the strike and that the administration pushed the deadline for registrations and drops.
Faculty members will return to class on Tuesday.
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