Tensions are rising between California State University (CSU) faculty and administrators, and there is no end in sight. On the first day of classes, many students were informed of the potential for a “strike or other work stoppage this term.”

After numerous sessions between CSU management and the bargaining team of the California Faculty Association (CFA), an official impasse determination has been filed at the California Public Employment Relations Board. The two parties met numerous times over the summer, after CFA made a proposal to open negotiations on May 1, but little common ground was found.

A number of proposals were on the table, but the pitifully low salaries of faculty — especially in light of the exorbitant salaries of administrators — cast a large shadow. Among the CFA proposals was a 12 percent general salary increase for faculty. Unsurprisingly, the CSU management balked and counteroffered a 4 percent — later raised to 5 percent — general salary increase followed by an 8 percent increase over the next two years, the latter being contingent on annual state funding for the CSU.