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Los Angeles – The California Faculty Association (CFA) announced today that its members overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike if a labor agreement cannot be reached with the CSU Administration.

If the ten-day "quiet period" concludes with no agreement, which is the final attempt to reach a contract under labor law, the CSU faculty has the legal right to begin job actions. Of the 8,129 faculty members who voted, 94% voted in favor of a strike. The 81% voter turnout on the 23

CSU campuses exceeded the CFA’s expectations. John Travis, President of the California Faculty Association, said, "Today, the faculty has spoken loud and clear – they are tired of the way in which they are being treated by the CSU Administration. And they want a return to a true focus on the mission of the university - the instruction of students. "They are frustrated by millions of dollars wasted on pet projects and golden parachute deals for executives while our classrooms and student services are being cut. And finally, they are sick of being lied to and treated disrespectfully by an Administration that makes ‘take it or leave it’ offers and refuses to bargain fairly.

"We need to make real progress toward paying the CSU faculty at the same level as our peers around the country. We know this administration has the financial flexibility to make it happen, but they choose not to. If they don’t find the will to reorder their priorities, we don’t want to strike but we will."

The vote authorizes CFA’s Board of Directors to set the dates and locations of the strike. CFA’s leaders have already indicated that the job actions will begin with "rolling strikes" in which campuses will strike at different times for two days each. The actions are likely to occur in April.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after the California Faculty Association, a union representing California State University faculty members, announced the union’s vote to authorize a strike:

“Despite today’s announcement that state university faculty members would strike, I am optimistic that both sides can come back to the table and reach an agreement. Faculty and administrators must work together in good faith so that our students, who are bettering themselves through receiving a quality college education, do not become the unintended victims of a looming strike.”