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Education Dec 01, 2023
Cal State LA. | Photo by Kaya CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
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The California State University faculty union has agreed to go on one-day strikes at two Southland campuses next week unless a breakthrough in negotiations is reached, union officials announced Friday.
The planned dates and campuses: Monday at Cal Poly Pomona and Wednesday at CSU Los Angeles.
The California Faculty Association says it is fighting for 12% wage hikes this academic year plus other concessions, including better parental leave, workload support and health and safety rights.
Cal State said Friday that while it is prepared to agree to many of the union’s demands contained in a neutral fact-finder report, a 12% general salary increase is not sustainable for the CSU system.
“CSU strives to provide fair, competitive pay and benefits for all of our employees,” Leora Freedman, CSU’s vice chancellor for human resources, said in a statement. “We recognize the need to increase compensation and are committed to doing so, but our financial commitments must be fiscally sustainable.”
As for CFA’s one-day strike threat, Freedman indicated that such actions are often part of negotiations.
“We respect the right of our labor unions to engage in strike activities, and we are prepared to minimize any disruptions to our campuses,” she said. “Our hope is that the planned strike activities pose no hardships on our students and that we can get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible with the CFA to come to an agreement.”
Teamsters Local 2010 members — who are also bargaining with CSU management — announced they plan sympathy strikes in support of CFA members next week. CFA represents more than 29,000 tenure-line instructional faculty, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches on CSU’s 23 campuses.
“Rent, childcare, groceries and the costs of basic necessities have gone up by double digits over the past few years,” Anne Luna, CFA Sacramento president and a Cal State Sacramento professor. “Our faculty are some of the lowest-paid educators in the state. They desperately need a lifeline.”
Luna said that although CSU is rejecting the union’s pay demand, an independent auditor who reviewed the public university system’s budget revealed that 12% is in fact workable for CSU.
“We know management can afford our proposals,” she said. “They can afford to provide fair compensation and safe working conditions. It’s time to stop funneling tuition and taxpayer money into a top-heavy administration. It’s time to put the money where it belongs, to support the faculty and students of the CSU.”
The one-day strikes at Cal Poly Pomona and CSU Los Angeles will include picket lines from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at various locations on the campuses as well as noon rallies. Strikes will also take place next week at Cal State Sacramento and San Francisco State.
