California State University faculty plan multi-day strike across 23 campuses over wages, benefits
Faculty at the California State University system —including campuses in San Bernardino and its Palm Desert campus, Fresno, Bakersfield, Monterey County, and Turlock— began a five-day strike on Monday.
The strike coincides with the first week of the spring term and is part of a historic 23-campus labor action that seeks to improve faculty pay and working conditions.
The strike also hopes to improve student learning in the nation’s largest public university system, according to California Faculty Association members, who issued a press release early Monday.
The association is calling for:
A 12% general salary increase.
Higher salary floors for the system's lowest-paid lecturers.
Reasonable class sizes and counselor-to-student ratios.
A full semester of paid parental leave.
Accessible lactation spaces and gender-inclusive restrooms.
Safe interactions with campus police.
Faculty said these changes are needed to lead decent lives, address long-standing inequities, and provide quality instruction to students.
“We all know that housing, gas, and food costs have skyrocketed in the Inland Empire and across California, but CSU faculty pay just hasn’t kept up,” said Jacqueline Romano, assistant professor in CSUSB’s Department of Teacher Education and Foundations.
Romano said that faneed needs salaries that reflect their qualifications, make up for what they've lost to inflation, and help them build lives in the communities where they teach.
The 12% general salary increase is essential and long overdue, she added.
“The CSU also desperately needs to raise salary floors for our lowest-paid lecturers,” Romano said. “Most CSU courses are taught by part-time lecturers, and many teach huge course loads across several schools just to put food on the table. It’s not right. We are all overworked and underpaid, and that undermines teaching and learning.”
By “withholding their labor,” faculty seeks to address other serious issues regarding workload, parental leave, and health and safety.
CSUSB Communication Studies professor Jo Anna Grant explained that she is striking for more mental health resources for her students.
“Every semester, I have numerous students who are in crisis and have to wait for weeks or months for an appointment with a psychological counselor,” Grant said. “The dearth of counselors is appalling and far below the recommended standard. It also increases faculty workload. The CSU needs to address counselor-to-student ratios to ensure students get the timely professional care they need.”
Strike plan at one CSU campus
Beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday, CSUSB faculty, students, and community members will form picket lines at all entrances to the San Bernardino campus.
Wearing red CFA shirts, picketers will chant labor slogans, wave picket signs, and share literature with those seeking to enter campus. Picket lines will disperse at 6 p.m. each day of the strike.
CSUSB faculty will also picket from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, at the Cook Street entrance of the Palm Desert Campus.
A rally for a fair faculty contract will also be held at the main entrance to the San Bernardino campus from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The rally will feature music and several speakers, including CSUSB faculty, student alums, and area labor and political leaders.
Picketers and rally attendees are encouraged to wear comfortable, weather-appropriate clothes, including sneakers and a red shirt.
Parking for those picketing at the Cal State San Bernardino campus will be available at the east parking structure near Coussoulis Arena. From Interstate 215, take the University Parkway exit toward CSUSB, turn right on Northpark Boulevard, left at Campus Circle, and follow Campus Circle to the east parking structure.
Parking is $6 per day for those without a CSUSB parking decal. A shuttle will provide regular transportation from the east parking structure to the picket lines.
Previous negotiations
The California Faculty Association’s one-week faculty strike follows months of difficult negotiations with CSU management, the group said.
The two sides began bargaining on a contract reopener last summer.
But on Jan. 9, CSU management walked out of negotiations, canceled the week’s remaining bargaining meetings, and imposed on faculty their “last, best, and final offer,” a 5%, non-retroactive pay raise, the association said.
Faculty regarded that raise as “insufficient” in light of recent inflation.
Management’s imposition also does not address the CFA’s proposals on lecturer pay, class sizes, counselor workloads, parental leave, or health and safety, the group claims.
This week’s faculty strike aims to bring CSU management back to the bargaining table to secure the full 12% raise and the safe, equitable working conditions they need to provide high-quality instruction.
“Our proposals are reasonable and absolutely necessary,” said CSUSB professor emeritus and CFA-San Bernardino president Dr. Rong Chen. “We also know that the university has the money to fund them -- if only it would get its priorities straight. CSU Chancellor Mildred García enjoys a nearly $1 million compensation package; campus presidents recently received raises of up to 29% (not to mention their generous housing and vehicle allowances); and the University has amassed $12.3 billion in reserves and investments. It’s time to invest in the people who are directly responsible for student success -- our faculty, counselors, coaches, and librarians.”
Over the past week, CFA-San Bernardino members informed their students about the strike and that faculty withholding their labor from Jan. 22-26. However, the CFA claims that CSU administrators have “sown confusion” by insisting both the San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses will be “fully operational.”
“We are disappointed that CSU administration is misleading students into believing that our campuses will be ‘fully operational this week,’” said Dr. Thomas Corrigan, a CSUSB Communication Studies professor and spokesperson for CFA-San Bernardino. “On the contrary, students should expect that the vast majority of classes –– both in-person and online –– will be canceled. Members of the campus community should also expect delays accessing campus, as faculty and students will be picketing at all entrances to campus. We recognize that this is an inconvenience, and we would much prefer to be in the classroom teaching than on the picket line, unpaid. But management’s intransigence leaves us no option but to withhold our labor to get a fair contract. We hope that CSU management will return to the negotiating table and begin bargaining with faculty in good faith.”
For further information on the faculty strike at CSUSB, follow CFA-San Bernardino on Instagram @cfa_csusb on Facebook at facebook.com/cfa.san.bernardino.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: California State University faculty plan multi-day strike over pay
