Cal State Trustees Approve New Faculty Contract, Raises

California State University’s 19,600 faculty members will soon receive raises retroactive to Sept. 1, 1998, under a new three-year contract that won final approval by the Board of Trustees on Tuesday.

The trustees’ committee on collective bargaining unanimously approved the contract that will nearly double the proportion of money handed out as merit raises, but will give faculty members a larger role in deeming who is meritorious.

The new contract will provide a general 3% salary increase, plus a 2.4% increase for about 6,000 junior faculty members who are working their way up the pay scale. Some faculty members will also get merit increases up to 7.5%.

In addition, the agreement will award two-year contracts to 3,000 lecturers, lending a little more job stability to these instructors who do not have tenure and often work part time.

Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the 22-campus system, said he was pleased to have the contract finalized, ending union strife that has preoccupied the university for the past year.

“There are many challenges facing the CSU,” he said, “including improving the public schools, addressing the shortage of teachers in our K-12 system, and the tidal wave of new students entering higher education.”