BUDGET CUTS AND FURLOUGHS

CFA BOARD: VOTE CAN OCCUR WHEN FURLOUGH DETAILS ARE KNOWN

The CFA Board of Directors voted Tuesday to initiate a vote of the CFA membership only when details of the proposed furlough program are known.

“We cannot in good conscience ask our members to decide on this critical issue without answers to their questions about the impact of furloughs on faculty workload and faculty jobs, among other issues” said CFA President Lillian Taiz.

Taiz continued, ”We have taken steps to ready ourselves for a vote, but the CSU Administration must first provide CFA with the details necessary for the faculty to make an informed decision.”

Despite multiple inquiries from CFA, the Chancellor’s Labor Relations department has refused to say whether acceptance of the proposal would prevent the loss of even one class or one faculty job. In addition, they have yet to agree that a furlough for faculty should be accompanied by a reduction in workload.

Both issues—workload and faculty jobs--have been raised repeatedly in faculty communications to CFA.

· CFA MEETS WITH CHANCELLOR’S REPS ON BUDGET CUTS

CFA leaders met again with the Chancellor’s Office Labor Relations team Thursday to convey concerns on the Chancellor’s ambiguous furlough proposal. At the meeting they relayed many of the ideas for dealing with the crisis that faculty members have provided to CFA in the past weeks.

The Chancellor’s Office representatives again provided no concrete assurances on any of CFA’s concerns but did make a commitment to respond within a few days.

When more information is available, it will be relayed in CFA Headlines.

· NEW FAQ HAS MORE ANSWERS TO YOUR FURLOUGH QUESTIONS

As CFA continues to receive questions from faculty members on the possibility of furloughs, CFA will update the FAQ document on the subject.

Like the hundreds of CSU faculty members who have communicated with CFA over the past few weeks, the CFA Board of Directors and Chapter leaders are deeply frustrated with the Chancellor’s handling of the CSU budget crisis and the furlough issue, in particular.

Where the FAQ is thin in detail, it is a reflection of the scant amount of information CFA has received from the Chancellor’s Office.

To view the updated FAQ, go to: http://calfac.org/allpdf/Budget_09_10/FAQ_onfurlough_0626.pdf

If after reading the Q&A you still have questions, you may send an email to: furloughsandbudgetcuts@calfac.org

STATE BUDGET UPDATE

· NO BUDGET DEAL YET; CHIANG CONSIDERS IOU’S

With California’s political leaders locked in their annual budgetary dance, the state could be just days away from having to pay its bills with IOUs.

On Wednesday, State controller John Chiang warned that if a budget deal is not finalized by July 1, the state would be forced to start paying its bills with IOUs.

It should be noted that Chancellor’s Office staff have confirmed that the state Controller’s statement does not, at this time, apply to payment of CSU faculty and staff salaries.

With the threat of IOUs looming, Republicans and Democrats in the state Assembly agreed on a package of three bills Thursday that would have cut education spending and delayed other payments to achieve nearly $5 billion in savings.

The proposal would not have solved the state's $24.3 billion deficit, but it would have been enough to delay the state from running out of cash in July.

Among the bills passed by lawmakers Thursday was Senate Bill 64 which would implement $3.1 billion in cuts to K-12 schools, community colleges, California State University and the University of California in the current fiscal year.

This stop-gap solution was later struck down by Republicans in the state Senate who sided with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who earlier in the day announced he would veto the proposal because it did not address the entire deficit.

Both the Assembly and the Senate will hold floor sessions Friday – and perhaps throughout the weekend – to continue to work towards a final budget.

· NEW TV AD SAYS GOV MUST STOP PROTECTING BIG BUSINESS AT THE EXPENSE OF STUDENTS AND OTHERS

On Wednesday, CFA and its allies in the fight for a “Common Sense Budget” launched a statewide TV ad campaign calling on the Governor to stop protecting big oil and tobacco interests after slashing critical services for seniors, kids, and college students in the name of “shared sacrifice.”

The ad points out the contradiction between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s assertion that everyone must share the burden of balancing the budget and his actions to slash services for children, seniors and families while giving big business a pass.

California big business actually received a tax decrease of up to $2.5 billion in the budget agreement reached in February.

The ad will be broadcast on cable television in every major media market in the state. A Spanish-language version of the ad also will run in various markets across the State

The ad can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23dcxGD8gyQ