From today’s Los Angeles Times:
California State University faculty walked out of classrooms Monday during the crucial end-of-term time, demanding higher pay and marking a high-profile escalation in contract negotiations between their union and the nation’s largest four-year public higher education system.
Faculty — including professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches — at four campuses will each participate in a one-day strike. Cal Poly Pomona faculty are striking Monday, followed by work stoppages later in the week at San Francisco State, Cal State Los Angeles and Sacramento State.
“These campuses were selected to send a strong signal to the CSU that they need to make major and significant movement on our bargaining demands,” said Charles Toombs, president of the California Faculty Assn. “Our faculty are absolutely fed up with their working conditions and salary that does not keep pace with inflation and the cost of living.”
More than 95% of faculty who participated in an October strike authorization vote approved the labor action, according to the union. It declined to say how many members voted.
The union, which represents 29,000 workers statewide, and the Cal State system are in the midst of so-called “reopener bargaining,” where they can negotiate parts of the existing contract before it expires in June. The sides are divided on pay. Faculty want a 12% increase for the 2023-24 academic year, while the system has offered a 5% increase each of the next three years.
Read the complete story here.