SAN DIEGO — Update:
An agreement was reached on Monday eveningt between Cal State University lecturers, professors and counselors throughout the CSU system.
"This historic agreement was won because of members’ solidarity, collective action, bravery, and love for each other and our students,” said Antonio Gallo, Associate Vice President of Lecturers, South. “This is what People Power looks like. This deal immensely improves working conditions for faculty and strengthens learning conditions for students.”
Original story:
In a historic first, all 23 campuses from Cal State University are striking for a higher salary and better work conditions.
It’s the largest university faculty strike in United States history. Thousands of lecturers, professors and counselors throughout the California State University system are insisting for higher compensation, improved work conditions, and more effective learning spaces.
"We are out here Monday through Friday This is day 1 and it's pouring rain!" said Jay Howell, counselor at Cal State San Marcos.
They didn’t let the heavy downpour stop them from picketing at Cal State San Marcos.
"We are under staffed with counselors across the system. We are supposed to see 1,500 students to one counselor, but instead it's 3,000 students to one counselor which is horrendous," said Howell.
"We know that CSU has the money. They have funds. They are brining in more money than they spend," said professor at Cal State San Marcos, Dr. Michelle Ramos Pellicia.
The strike includes many faculty picketing at San Diego State University and Cal State Long Beach as well.
"Today, we have shut down 23 campuses including here in Long Beach which means that is almost 30,000 faculty who are on the picket line and 460,000 students are not in class today," said a staff member striking at Cal State Long Beach.
They are specifically asking for a 12% increase in salary, manageable work load, gender inclusive bathrooms, lactation rooms, and extended parental leave.
They are also fighting for increased pay for the lowest paid lecturers to keep up with inflation.
"They don’t make enough money to pay their rent, groceries or gas," said Dr. Ramos Pellicia.
They say they will strike everyday this week until they see a change.
"We will be here all week standing strong in solidarity with our siblings in the union," added Dr. Ramos Pelicia.
Cal State University released this statement:
The California State University (CSU) will be providing regular updates during the strike. All CSU campuses are open during the strike. We respect the rights of the faculty union and their members to engage in strike activity and remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the California Faculty Association (CFA) for the sake of our students, faculty, the system and the state.
The parties were in communication with each other over the weekend. We will not discuss any details of those communications.
As you may have already seen, the CSU has reached a tentative agreement with the Teamsters Local 2010 on a three-year contract. The agreement covers 1,100 skilled trades employees across 22 of the CSU's 23 campuses. Teamsters members are not participating in the faculty union's strike. The agreement must be ratified by the union membership and will be brought to the CSU Board of Trustees for approval at its March 2024 meeting. We are hopeful we can also reach an agreement with the CFA soon.
Meanwhile, there still remains misinformation about the status of classes. Again, classes are not canceled. Individual faculty members who decide to strike will cancel their own classes. Students should check their class portals or contact their professors to find out whether they intend to hold class this week. If students have not heard from their instructor that their class is canceled, they should assume that it is being held as scheduled and go to class. There have been no changes to the published spring academic calendar, and the strike will not interfere with students' ability to complete their courses and graduate on time.
People coming to campus should expect to see picket lines and may experience traffic delays, but access to campus will be maintained and offices and facilities will be open to provide services and resources to students to help them prepare for the new semester.
There have been questions about what the CSU has offered the CFA.
- The CSU has offered the faculty union a 15% raise over three years (a 5% raise each year).
- The CSU has offered the faculty union two additional weeks of paid parental leave (currently 6 weeks, we have offered 8 weeks).
- The CSU has offered to accept 13 of the independent factfinder's 15 recommendations. This includes the factfinder's comments on paid leave, department chair pay, gender-inclusive restrooms, and counselors and other key items.
The CFA's demand for a 12% raise would cost $312 million just this year. Their other economic demands, such as life insurance increases and raising the minimum pay add up to another $68 million, for a total of $380. This is financially unrealistic. Their request far surpasses the state funding increase that the CSU received in last year's state budget ($227 million) and is more than the entire budget of Cal Poly Pomona ($369 million).
The CSU remains committed to supporting our students and entering into labor agreements that do not result in cuts to the academic and student supportive programs that make the CSU the most diverse and transformative university system in the nation.
We will continue to provide regular updates.
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