Faculty announced at a rally late Thursday morning they will begin working strictly to the terms of their latest contract, starting Monday, March 22, the university's first day after spring break. The move comes as Salem State members of the Massachusetts State College Association, which covers faculty and librarians at each of nine state colleges, complete one of two weeks of unpaid furlough time that administrators said they must take before the end of the academic year in June. Citing a projected $20 million in budget deficits over the next two fiscal years, the university has pushed members of the MSCA to take the furlough weeks to realize savings now and avoid permanent layoffs (the second furlough week is set for May 23-29, the week after commencement).
