California State University faculty at four campuses went on strike on Monday to demand higher pay and expanded parental leave for thousands of workers at the largest public university system in the US.
The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 workers, is staging one-day work stoppages at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; San Francisco State University; California State University, Los Angeles and California State University, Sacramento.
The union is seeking a 12% salary raise and an increase in parental leave from six weeks to a full semester for professors, librarians and other workers. They also want more manageable workloads for faculty, better access to breastfeeding stations and more gender-inclusive restrooms.
Anne Luna, the president of the faculty union’s Sacramento chapter, said these workers need a boost in pay and benefits at a time when the cost of rent, groceries, childcare and other necessities have gone up in recent years.
“They can afford to provide fair compensation and safe working conditions,” Luna said in a statement. “It’s time to stop funneling tuition and taxpayer money into a top-heavy administration.”
Administrative salaries have risen at a greater rate than those of professors and lecturers. Between 2007 and 2022, the base salaries of CSU presidents have grown an average of 43% while the chancellor’s base salary increased by 38% from $451,500 to $625,000, according to CalMatters.
During that same period, professors saw a 30% pay hike from an average of $93,643 to $122,016 and salaries for lecturers rose by 22% to an average of $71,255 a year for those working full-time, the outlet reported.
The California State University chancellor’s office says the pay increase the union is seeking would cost the system $380m in new recurring spending. That would be $150m more than increased funding for the system by the state for the 2023-24 year, the office said.
Leora Freedman, the vice-chancellor for human resources, said in a statement that the university system aimed to pay its workers fairly and provide competitive benefits.
“We recognize the need to increase compensation and are committed to doing so, but our financial commitments must be fiscally sustainable,” Freedman said.
She said the chancellor’s office respected workers’ right to strike and would prepare to minimize disruptions on campuses.
The union’s board of directors, unanimously voted to call a strike after gaining support from 95% of members who participated in an October vote on the action.
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Beyond the faculty union, other California State University workers are fighting for better pay and bargaining rights. The Teamsters Local 2010 union, which represents plumbers, electricians and maintenance workers employed by the university system, held a one-day strike last month to fight for better pay. In October, student workers across the university system’s 23 campuses became eligible to vote to form a union.
Jason Rabinowitz, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 2010, which plans to strike in support of the faculty union, said skilled workers had been paid far less than workers in similar roles at University of California campuses.
“Teamsters will continue to stand together and to stand with our fellow unions, until CSU treats our members, faculty and all workers at CSU with the fairness we deserve,” Rabinowitz said in a statement.
The strike comes during a big year for labor, one in which healthcare professionals, Hollywood actors and writers, and auto workers picketed for better pay and working conditions. It comes amid new California laws granting workers more paid sick leave, as well as increased wages for healthcare and fast-food workers.
Last year, teaching assistants and graduate student workers at the University of California went on strike for a month, disrupting classes as the fall semester came to a close.