CSU chancellor opens the door for a last-minute solution ahead of a faculty strike, says campuses will remain open.

Monday morning, Jan. 22, faculty members at all 23 California State University campuses are expected to form picket lines, striking for one week with a demand of a pay increase, among other issues. Two-and-a-half days ahead of that strike, CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia said the CSU is willing to come back to the bargaining table.

"Let me assure you, as a new chancellor four months into the job, we have no interest in a strike," she said on Friday afternoon, Jan. 19, in a Zoom call with reporters. Garcia said she hoped administrators would hear from representatives of the California Faculty Association over the weekend.

There was a big caveat to Garcia's willingness to negotiate. The union, administrators said, would have to budge from its demand of a 12-percent raise. The University is offering a 5-percent raise over the three-year contract.

"We are ready and willing to come back to the bargaining table with the [CFA] but we must work within our financial realties," Garcia said. Another administrator, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Leora Friedman, said as soon as the union indicates it would come down from 12 percent, "we'll come back to the table."

Administrators on the call repeatedly said that the CSU could not afford the 12-percent increase. In addition to the CFA, the university system is also in a standoff with the Teamsters union which is asking for a 40-percent raise over three years for its approximately 1,000 members across the system.

"The CSU spends about 75 percent of its budget on compensation. If we agree to the increases these unions are demanding we would have to make severe cuts to programs. We would have to layoff employees," said Friedman. "This would jeopardize our educational mission and create hardship for many employees."

Friedman said the cost of both requested raises combined to the CSU would be $380 million the first year and every year after, $150 million more than the state's increase to the 2023-2024 budget. 

Whether or not the CSU can afford pay increases is a major point of contention. CFA representatives said an independent analysis they commissioned shows the CSU could divert some money from reserves to pay for raises.

Steve Relyea, executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer, called the analysis flawed. He said most of the $2.5 billion in reserves is tied up in obligations and commitments, leaving approximately $766 million in "true reserves," one–time money that cannot be used for salaries.

Friedman said the $766 million was enough to keep all 23 campuses in operation for 30 days, below board policy and best practices that call for emergency funds to cover three to six months. 

CSU Monterey Bay and the rest of the 22 CSU campuses will be open, said Christina Checel, associate vice chancellor for labor and employee relations. Food services, libraries, academic advising, financial aid advising, residence halls and gyms will be available, she said.

All campuses have contingency plans, "and we're prepared for a prolonged strike," Checel said. No classes will be cancelled, unless by faculty members themselves. She said the strike would not interfere with students completing courses or graduating on time.

Meghan O'Donnell, a CSUMB lecturer who serves on the CFA negotiating team, says the union learned of the press call after the fact, and to her knowledge the union has not been given an offer to come back to the bargaining table. She expects to be on the picket line Monday morning.