Cal Poly faculty union halts classes, kicks off CSU strike for higher wages

Under scattered rain showers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo faculty members opened their five-day strike by picketing at the edge of campus on Monday, demanding higher wages and more support.

The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 members across the California State University’s 23 campuses, started a weeklong, system-wide strike on Monday — effectively shutting down classes for a week.

The union is asking for a 12% raise, according to CFA-SLO President Lisa Kawamura. She’s worked as a lecturer for the Cal Poly communications studies department for 26 years.

“A lot of us — especially starting assistant professors — don’t make a living wage,” she said. “Some of them are below the poverty line and have a hard time getting housing.”

In January, the CSU offered a 5% raise before abruptly ending negotiations with the union, according to a CFA news release. The union organized the strike to pressure the CSU to return to negotiations, agree to the 12% raise, and respond to the union’s other demands, Kawamura said.

Along with the 12% raise, the union also asked the CSU for more gender inclusive bathrooms, more lactation rooms, representation for faculty when they are detained by campus police, two quarters or a semester of paid parental leave, and a wage increase for the lowest paid lecturers, Kawamura said.

“Our lecturers certainly don’t make a living wage, and many of them are not full time so they’re having to go to other campuses, teach other classes online, and that puts a real burden on the students,” she said. “If I have to go teach a class at Cuesta, I can’t stay extra office hours for you, or I have less time to spend on email answering questions.”

Cal Poly doesn’t offer competitive enough wages to retain faculty, especially in the computer science department where professors can make more money working in other industries, according to Kawamura.

The strike is scheduled for Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Kawamura.

“This is the largest higher education strike in the history of the United States, so I’m proud to be out here,” Kawamura said.

Some professors cancel classes for strike

Instead of preparing for a lecture on Monday morning, Kawamura packed up her megaphone and drove to the strike before sunrise.

By 9:30 a.m., about 40 students and faculty were picketing on the corner of California Boulevard and Highland Drive — blowing whistles and waving bright red signs at passing drivers.

Kawamura posted readings to Canvas to help her students prepare for future assignments, but she won’t teach this week and she signed out of her Cal Poly email and Canvas.

“Some people are continuing to teach, which we understand,” Kawamura said. “But if it’s not felt in the system — if students aren’t feeling the hurt and the system isn’t feeling that hurt, than this is all for naught.”

Cal Poly did not cancel classes this week, but some professors canceled their own classes for the strike, according to university spokesperson Matt Lazier. Other professors continued to teach or post assignments online for their students.

Lazier encouraged students to check with professors to find out if they are expected to attend class or complete assignments during the strike.

The campus will remain open during the strike, including the dorms, campus dining, the library and support services, Lazier said.

Political science lecturer Annie Aguiñiga canceled class for the week and posted readings to Canvas that she will review in class next week.

“Better working conditions will be better learning conditions,” she said, noting that students will benefit from the strike, too.

Only a handful of people wandered a mostly empty campus on Monday.

Agricultural communications freshman Paige Van Loben Sels was among them, talking with her friends over frozen yogurt near Dexter Lawn.

Her classes were either canceled or held on Zoom during the strike. Some professors assigned work online, but won’t grade the assignments until after the strike, she said.

“It’s kinda concerning because we have midterms coming up, so we’re kinda behind,” Van Loben Sels said.

She said she doesn’t support faculty striking while students pay tuition.

“I’m all for raises,” Van Loben Sels said. “But even if it’s just for a week, we’re paying for this.”

Meanwhile, general engineering sophomore Patrick Brooks said he doesn’t mind teaching himself material through online assignments during strike week.

He still has to go to math class during the strike, but his two other classes were canceled.

“I personally support the teachers,” Brooks said. “They’re helping us get our careers. They deserve that raise.”