Merit pay issue divides faculty, chancellor

The California Sate University Board of Trustees has approved a $3.2 billion budget plan for the 1999/2000 year that includes $93 million for faculty salaries. Forty percent of that money is earmarked solely for Chancellor Charles Reed's revised version of a largely despised program -- merit pay.

Merit pay has become the most divisive issue in the current impasse between CSU and the California Faculty Association, the union representing CSU professors. Negotiations over faculty salaries between the CFA and CSU have stalled over Reed's commitment to merit pay.

"Merit pay is a falsely named proposal. It is essentially a presidential patronage system," said Jeff Lustig, professor of government and president of the CSUS CFA chapter.

Reed's system of merit pay will also be known as Performance Salary Step Increases, and will be distributed as a permanent increase to a professor's salary.

Merit pay candidates may receive a merit award of one step, which is a 2.4 percent raise. PSSI awards may go as high as five steps, with each step representing a 2.4 percent permanent increase to the recipient's salary.

While faculty may serve on the selection and review committees, President Gerth has the final say in merit pay awards. Gerth may decline the recommendations made by departments for merit pay. He may also award merit pay to professors who haven't been selected as meritorious by their own departments.

In both 1996 and 1997, Gerth awarded more merit pay increases than the University Level Review Committee had given him. In July of 1997, the ULRC sent him 51 proposals for merit pay which Gerth sanctioned. He then awarded another 54 PSSI increases to faculty that had not been recommended by the committees.

The proposed merit pay system is designed to increase instructor productivity and is touted as a tool that will improve the overall quality of a CSU education.

"We oppose Reed's proposal for merit pay. It is a subjective business decision," said Doreen Stabinsky, professor of environmental studies and a member of the CFA bargaining team.

The CFA insists that a merit pay system, in the form of the peer review process or Retention, Tenure, and Promotional process, is already in place. This peer review system grants tenure, promotions, and job security to faculty. While the RTP process is not directly tied to pay increases, salary increases often result if one is retained, promoted, or tenured.

The RTP process seeks to foster academic excellence and freedom rather than influencing faculty tax brackets, Stabinsky said.

"We want to award money according to our faculty criteria," said Stabinsky. "CFA is opposed to Reed's new, completely different set of criteria."Reed has refused to budge on the amount of compensation that will go towards merit pay. The CFA is asking that only 22 percent of total compensation go to merit pay. Talks between CFA and CSU have stalled and neither side seems willing to budge.