On Jan. 22, the Cal State University faculty union went on strike, representing over 29,000 employees. While the strike was planned for five days, it lasted only one day, making it one of the shortest strikes of 2023. Although the strike was short, an abundance of students were negatively impacted by the strikes, affecting some incoming freshman’s point of view on the CSU’s system.
“I do not want to attend a CSU because of the strike,” SAS senior Paula Jimenez said.
Jimenez emphasizes her concern that the strike causing classes to be canceled continuously brings up the possibility of another strike impacting her education in the future. The Cal State University system is the largest public university system in the country. With a surplus of students, faculty felt their pay needed to be higher for current living conditions in California. However, the administration argued that the system has nearly 460,000 students and could not afford to raise salaries.
Ms. Monroy, head of the College Center, wants to remind students that CSU schools are still worth applying to.
“Any students who decide to attend the CSUs, you’re always going to get a quality education no matter where you are. All the schools have a high-quality education,” Ms. Monroy said.
At first, the union representing the faculty, the California State University Employee Union, was not only asking for higher pay but lower student-to-faculty ratios, especially regarding counselors. The CSU Employee Union additionally argued for more inclusive bathrooms and longer parental leave for all parents. Concerning the pay, the union asked for at least a 12% increase for all employees. They also requested to change the minimum salary from $54,360 to $64,360, a nearly 20 percent increase from the previous minimum salary.
The agreement decided that all faculty would receive back pay of 5% from July 2023, and a 5% increase starting this July. The other goals such as extended parental leave were achieved. All faculty and staff returned to work on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and classes resumed.
“Anyone who was on strike, it’s because they are working a lot and they deserve as much compensation and everything to keep up with inflation,” Ms. Monroy said
