04-16-2012 by The Daily Aztec

Potential faculty strike looms

MONDAY April 16, 2012 Volume 97, Issue 104 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T After a 22-month bargaining process broke down between the 23 CSU campuses and the Chancellor’s Office, the California Faculty Association is contemplating a strike. | MCT CAMPUS

CSU faculty begins voting on whether it will strike Ana Ceballos staff writer Faculty members throughout California will be voting on whether to move forward with what is presumed to be the largest strike in the history of California and possibly the nation. Voting will begin today to determine whether faculty will grant their union’s board of directors, the California Faculty Association, the authority to

A S B E AT Bylaws passed Associated Students Council approved bylaw amendments for the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Arts and Letters, Green Love and University Affairs Board. They updated

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call a strike if the legally required bargaining is left without an agreement. The bargaining process involving the 23 California State University campuses broke down last Wednesday after 22 months passed without being able to reach an agreement with the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees. Lillian Taiz, president of the CFA and history professor at California State University Los Angeles, said the poor faculty conditions relate directly to students’ quality education. “How many students can fit in the classroom? When will it reach a limit?” Taiz said. “They [Chancellor’s Office] will not budget for that.” According to CSU Media Relations Specialist Erik Fallis, CFA’s proposals

details within their bylaws to clarify procedures, definitions and officer duties. The only proposed bylaw amendment that didn’t pass would have required student organizations that sit on A.S. Council to submit and present their minutes to council. Currently, student organizations are only required to present minutes once per semester. President Pro Tempore Alex Arena, author of the amendment, intended to increase communication between organizations and A.S. and increase transparency, but organization representatives didn’t think that would be achieved. Unclear wording led to confusion about how exactly the amendment would be executed.

North Korean leader Kim Jongun gives first speech Breaking the pattern of seclusion made the norm by his father, Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un gave a 20-minute speech in front of tens of thousands of North Koreans and broadcasted live across the country. The speech professed the strength of the country’s armed forces, and promised strength-

come with a $203 million price tag. “Our resources are very limited and taking out money from our very limited budget would mean cutting down other resources students need,” Fallis said. “Students could be sacrificing financial aid advising, building maintenance or even their department counselors.” Kim Geron, vice president of the CFA, is concerned about top executives on campus terminating faculty members instead of allowing the heads of departments to decide which teachers should stay or leave. “It is critical to assess our own peers and not let outsiders choose who is best to teach in our departments,” Geron said.

Residence Hall Association’s Jasmine Henderson said, “I think the concept that Alex originally started with got muddled with everyone else’s perspective.” One notable amendment that passed led to the creation of the Undeclared Student Council. Jessika Seekatz, the Unclassified Studies Representative, wants to encourage leadership in undeclared students and increase communication between them and A.S. The council will consist of a president, an executive vice president, a vice president of finance, an A.S. council representative and a major adviser.

The chancellor’s proposal would make the offer of multi-year contracts solely at the discretion of top executives, raising the concern that without a stable workforce, most of the contracts are temporary, leaving students without a stable staff to guide them through college. “We just want this to bring attention to the way the board is dealing with both students and faculty,” Taiz said. “ This strike will be mostly symbolic and very powerful.” In-person voting times will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Thursday at the San Diego State Faculty Staff Club. The online vote for the whole CSU system will end on April 27.

President’s Budget Advisory Committee. The budget generally remained the same as last school year’s budget, with a 0.9 percent decrease in expenditures, which is a difference of $196,249. The Finance Board relied on reserves to offset expected revenue declines. In the budget’s memorandum, Vice President of Finance Rob O’Keefe wrote, “Even in tough economic times, Associated Students remains committed to providing a high level of services to students.” University Senate Designee Dr. Cathie Atkins urged students to keep informed of budget updates at sdsu.edu/budgetcentral.

Budget proposal finalized Finance Board finalized the budget —Compiled by Staff Writer Amy proposal it will send to the Williams

ening the military was his “first, second and third priorities.” The speech, which comes just days after the failed attempt to launch a satellite into Earth’s orbit via rocket, was followed by what CNN called North Korea’s “biggest display of weapons in a military parade, including what appeared to be the largest missile the North has ever unveiled.” Making the speech on the 100th birthday of Kim Il-sung,

Jong-un’s speech broke the silence of his father and former leader of North Korea, who notoriously avoided public attention. CNN reported North Koreans did not even hear Jong-il’s voice until a broadcast in 1992, when he shouted a single sentence into a microphone.

—Compiled by News Editor Hutton Marshall.

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