The California Faculty Association (CFA) is executing a planned strike at California State University (CSU) campuses at Dominguez Hills and Easy Bay campuses Thursday. The protests, which began in the early morning and are expected to go into the evening, come just one day after a 9 percent tuition increase voted on by the CSU Board of Trustees.
The strike was voted on in early November by CFA members, and passed with more than 90 percent of voting members’ approval. Though CFA has been working without a contract since 2010, they can legally only strike against the fact that raises guaranteed under their old contract were not honored.
CSU spokesperson Erik Fallis said in an interview with the Mustang Daily last month the raises were not honored due to budget cuts in education.
Architectural engineering professor Jill Nelson, who made the trip to CSU Dominguez Hills on a CFA sponsored charter bus along with five other professors, worked for 30 years in the private sector before coming to Cal Poly. She said this is the first time she has not received a raise in four years.
San Luis Obispo chapter president Glen Thorncroft said the turnout from Cal Poly faculty was fairly expected, due to San Luis Obispo’s distance from both campuses.
“It’s a 12-hour commitment,” Thorncroft said. “And they want to minimize the impact on their students as much as possible.”
San Luis Obispo chapter treasurer Jere Ramsey said due to the strike’s proximity to the Board of Trustees’ 9 percent tuition increase, part of the focus of the strike has shifted from faculty pay raises to students’ concerns.
“We’re striking about our inability, or the threat to our ability, to provide quality education to students,” CFA president Lillian Taiz said.
This article was written by Sean McMinn.