Your CSUEU bargaining team recommends ratification

Key changes in the agreement include:

• A contract extending from the date of ratification until June 30, 2014.
• Maintenance of health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits, including the continuation of the Rural Health Care Stipend, for the life of the agreement.
• Salary reopeners at the request of either party in 2012/13 and 2013/14.  Due to deep cuts to the CSU budget, there will be no general salary increase in FY 2011/12.
• The salary reopener will include negotiations over critical problems with CSU’s salary structure and the lack of movement through the salary ranges.
• Staff parking fees are frozen through July 2012 and cannot be increased in any fiscal year during which there is no general salary increase (GSI). If and when there is a GSI, campuses cannot raise fees higher than monthly student rates, nor can they increase rates more than $3 per month once per fiscal year.
• Campuses may not decrease the number of available non-reserved parking spaces.
• Increased workload and out-of-class work are added as new criteria for granting In-Range Progressions (IRP). 
• CSU will review the out-dated administrative support, administrative analyst and IT classification series.
• CSU will grant release time for employees in State Personnel Board hearings.
• Expansion of employees’ eligibility to receive sick or bereavement leave for persons living in their household.
• Expanded protections against displacement caused by contracting out.  Specifically, contracting cannot cause CSUEU-employees to be reassigned to a satellite campus.
• Whenever the university cites “operational needs” to deny an employee’s request for leave, telecommuting, or an alternate work schedule, the administrator must provide a written explanation.
• Increased parental leave for parents and guardians of older children.
• New leave for serving as an election precinct officer.
• Employees who are reassigned to a position in the same classification and skill level must be paid the same salary.
• Clarifies that it is CSU policy to fill vacancies with qualified CSUEU-represented employees, except for emergency hires of less than 90 days (Article 9.3).
• CSUEU may appeal any grievances filed on or after July 1, 2011 to arbitration.

“We successfully pushed back against parking fee increases and attacks to seniority rights,” said CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “We bargained many changes that address problems that our stewards and members have experienced during the past few years. We will be back in a reopener later this year to confront CSU over its broken compensation and classification system. We will continue to fight every instance where CSU is using wasteful, inefficient contracting out.”
 
He added, “This is a good contract, fought for and arrived at despite the current miserable times for public employees and higher education. We need a strong ratification vote to send a message that we are unified and determined.”
 
Ballots to ratify the tentative contract agreement will be mailed out shortly to all CSUEU members. Fair share fee payers are invited to sign up for membership in order to participate in the vote and make their voices heard.

Read details about specific articles of the tenative agreement.

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