Furloughs Begin at Cal Poly Aug. 1

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly faculty, staff and administrators all began implementing furloughs Aug. 1 along with the rest of the 23-campus California State University system and its Chancellor's Office. The two-day-per-month furloughs include all employees -- including all top management officials.

On July 29, the CSU announced that the California Faculty Association (CFA) ratified an agreement with the California State University to implement the equivalent of a two day per month furlough beginning August 1. In addition, the Academic Professionals of California (APC), the union that represents approximately 2,400 student services employees, has also ratified an agreement to begin furloughs, with members voting 72 percent in favor and 28 percent against the furlough agreement. Members of the CFA had previously voted to accept a furlough agreement.

"We appreciate that we were able to come to an agreement with these two unions because furloughs will help to save jobs, preserve employee health and retirement benefits, and ultimately, allow us to better serve students," said CSU Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, Gail Brooks. "Unprecedented reductions in state funding have left CSU with an enormous budget deficit, and reducing our employee costs is a critical part of CSU’s action plan to address this shortfall."

Under the CFA furlough agreement, faculty members will work with individual campus administrators so that class schedules for students are minimally disrupted. For example, if a furlough day is taken on a day of instruction, alternative out-of-classroom assignments could be given to students.

Read the full CSU News Release on the Aug. 1 launch of furloughs