Faculty at Cal State prepare five-day strike

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Barring a last-minute deal, faculty members across the California State University system will stage a five-day strike starting Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands of students adrift just as the spring semester begins.

The planned strike through Friday is the latest in a series of labor actions from lecturers, librarians, coaches, social workers and other staff at the nation’s largest public university, which includes San Jose State, San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

“We have been in the bargaining process for eight months and the California Faculty Association has shown no movement, leaving us no other option” but to end contract negotiations, Leora Freedman, the CSU’S vice chancellor for human resources, said in a statement.

On Friday, trade workers from Teamsters Local 2010, reached a separate tentative agreement with CSU to avert their own strike next week. The deal reportedly includes guaranteed raises each year of the contract, the return of a salary-step system and maintained pension and medical benefits.

But the California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 staff at Cal State, was still moving forward as of Saturday with its strike plans, which members approved in late October after the CSU stood firm on its offer of 5 percent salary increases for faculty starting Jan. 31, effectively ending contract negotiations.

The labor action follows months of talks between the union and the university, with faculty members calling for a 12 percent pay bump, a higher floor for the lowest-paid staff, and expanded parental leave, among other demands. CFA’S contract is set to expire in June.

“As CSU management refuses to listen, we have no alternative but to disrupt the business of the CSU to get their attention,” said Meghan O’donnell, an associate vice president at the CFA.

In December, faculty at four CSU campuses walked out of the classroom for one day each. This month’s strike is slated to be much longer: It’s anticipated that the majority of faculty at all 23 campuses will refrain from teaching, grading or answering work emails for an entire week.

The strike could impact the more than 460,000 students who attend CSUS, resulting in canceled classes and athletic events during the first week of the spring semester at most CSU campuses.