The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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What’s an employee worth?

To the reader:

When we published an article near the end of last semester that detailed the large difference between two professors’ salaries, it created an uproar at one Faculty Senate meeting, which was a wake-up call for all of us. Knowledge is power: Faculty members throughout the California State University system need equitable pay. Some professors are paid handsomely for their work, and rightfully so; others are paid wages that cannot keep up with the cost of living, and this is intolerable. As we went to print in the week before spring break, the CSU and California Faculty Association were gearing up for new negotiations, and may have reached a settlement by today. With this in mind, however, we are aware that there will still be discrepancies in pay regardless of what outcome the CSU and CFA reach.

There has been some debate as to both when and why to publish the following list of salaries in the Sundial. Professors and other employees could be angry; some people might not see the point of it. The list includes all CSUN employees, because the university does not provide separate lists for faculty, staff and administrators.

We have considered alternative ways to get the information to the CSUN community, but agreed that this issue was our best option.

Are we concerned about the fallout? For us, the gains of running this list far outweigh the risks. To create needed change, big gestures are needed; this is ours.

Rather than dividing faculty, we hope that these salaries will begin a dialogue that has been needed on this campus – and throughout this university system – for a very long time.

Lauren RobesonEditor in Chief

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