Patience is wearing thin for California Faculty Association members.

The prospect of a strike may become a reality in the coming weeks if the California State University doesn’t bring the right bargain to the table soon.

CFA leaders have held campus strike meetings at several universities – San Diego State held its on Feb. 14 – and will conclude the final conferences at CSU Stanislaus and CSU Northridge by the end of the week.

“The hope is that we don’t have to do this, but faculty must also present a solid front to ensure that the message is clear,” SDSU CFA Chapter President Mark Wheeler, Ph.D., said of the possibility of two-day rolling strikes.

During the meetings, faculty members also had the opportunity to sign commitment cards to vote “yes” in case of a possible vote to strike.

This is one of the first major steps toward possible work action for CFA members, who are currently paid much less than comparable institutions, according to the CFA/CSU bargaining summary. They have been working on an extended contract for more than 20 months, and the latest contract extension between the CSU and CFA is set to expire on Feb. 28.

“What we hope is that the CSU statewide bargaining team returns to the table with the willingness to make some real concessions and make compromises,” Wheeler said. “We’re willing to talk and work with them. That is my hope. But unless we act now, we are jeopardizing the quality of working conditions and the health of the system.”

The key CFA negotiation topic is increasing compensation. But, among other issues, members are also looking to keep lecturer rights, parking and grievance procedures equitable.

On Feb. 9, negotiations entered the fact-finding stage, a 30-day period in which a state-appointed neutral third party member was called in to mediate between the CSU representative and CFA representative and report non-binding suggestions for possible resolutions.

Many people, including CSU board of trustees members, agree that faculty concerns are legitimate and critical.

“I think that the faculty are rightly trying to educate the CSU community about being underpaid because they are underpaid,” said Andrew LaFlamme, the voting student representative on the CSU board of trustees. “I think the difficult situation we’re having now is that we haven’t been able to reach a contractual understanding and made some progress toward correcting that situation.”

LaFlamme, who is a business administration graduate student at CSU Stanislaus, said the CSU board of trustees has been “really focused on reaching a resolution.”

CSU representatives presented CFA members with a four-year contract totaling an increase of more than 24 percent, but inserted a clause that has raises contingent on whether the CSU receives sufficient funding from the state. The clause is meant to keep the CSU from being contractually bound to obligations it can’t fulfill as it had in the past.

During the administration of former California Gov. Gray Davis from 1999 to 2003, the CSU provided a contract negotiation based on the assumption that it would receive proper funding. However, budget cuts and Davis’ recall hurt the state and cost the CSU system.

LaFlamme said that while the CSU board of trustees would like to give the CFA a greater offer, it would be financially irresponsible. However, several people, including Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, have questioned the CSU board of trustees’ fiscal management following the recent pay increase approval it provided its own executives.

Caught in the middle of CSU and CFA negotiations are students who feel for their faculty members but are concerned about their own education.

“Instead of using their right to striking and focusing all this energy at this level, it should be spent lobbying the state for more money because that’s the bottom issue,” said Khouloud Elmasri, Associated Students vice president of external affairs. “The faculty, students and administration are looking for more money.

“On the one hand, we support our faculty, but if it means a higher student fee, then we have to maintain our own interests.”

Wheeler said that more than anything, faculty members are concerned about their students.

“It’s a proportional action to the wrong,” Wheeler said. “It’s not to harm the students. It’s short-term pain for long-term gain. But I have confidence in my colleagues that whatever needs students have will be met.”