March 29, 2016
Dear Students:
I hope this message finds you doing well and that the spring term has been going well for you. Many of you may have questions about the upcoming faculty strike, and I wanted to share some information with you to address any concerns you may have.
Why Is There Going to Be A Strike?
The California Faculty Association (CFA) is the union to which many of our faculty belong. They announced plans for a strike on all 23 campuses of the California State University (CSU). The strike days will be April 13-15 and April 18-19, 2016. The CSU Chancellor’s Office and CFA have not been able to reach a salary agreement through the collective bargaining process. We acknowledge the right of our faculty to participate in a strike. Each faculty member may choose whether or not to participate in the strike.
Will Campuses Be Open During the Strike?
Our campus will remain open during the strike, and students should be able to access all non-instructional programs and services without interruption, including any planned campus-wide activities and events. Academic ceremonies such as honors convocation or other events related to graduation should continue as planned. If any of this changes, it will be communicated via email, social media and our website at www.csuci.edu.
All campus entrances, buildings and service areas will be kept open and available during normal hours of operation on the designated strike days. Given this, there will be no partial refunds of tuition and fees, housing fees, meal plan fees, or related expenses.
How Will My Classes Be Affected By The Strike?
Some of your faculty may choose to strike and cancel classes. Other faculty may choose not to strike and will continue to teach class, offer office hours, etc. You should not assume that if one instructor cancels classes that this will affect other classes – even in the same program.
For those faculty who do strike, they should inform you in advance about how their participation in strike activities may impact your courses, including modifications to course syllabi, deferred or alternative assignments, and possible make-up work. If your instructors do not provide clear guidance about their courses, you should inquire with them or with the program chair.
If you are participating in off-campus course-related activities, such as student teaching, internships/externships, or service learning, you should continue to report to the sponsoring off-campus agency to continue working on assignments.
Your ability to complete courses and earn full academic credit for the term should not be impacted. If you have concerns, please contact the appropriate academic program.
What Are My Rights as a Student?
The University fully respects the free speech rights of our students, staff, and faculty. You are not obligated to support either the CFA’s position or the CSU administration’s side regarding the strike. You cannot be compelled to walk out of class, walk picket lines or otherwise support the strike as part of a class assignment, for extra credit, or in exchange for a grade.
Please know that retaliation from any member of the campus community for any position you take on this issue is unlawful and inappropriate, and should be reported immediately to the Title IX & Inclusion office by contacting brittany.grice@csuci.edu or 805-437-3608.
An FAQ is posted at the following link http://calstate.edu/hr/employee-relations/bargaining-updates/documents/2016/CFA-Strike-QandA.pdf (PDF, 106KB)
For future updates regarding the CFA strike, please refer to http://www.calstate.edu/hr/employee-relations/bargaining-updates/
You may direct any questions not addressed in this communication to the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 805-437-8536. In the meantime, we wish you success in all of your academic endeavors!
Sincerely,
Wm. Gregory Sawyer, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs