Cal State faculty members end strike after one day
By Melissa Alonzo
(CNN) — Faculty members at California State University (CSU), the largest public university system in America, have ended their one-day strike after reaching a tentative agreement with management.
The agreement, which must be ratified by the California Faculty Association (CFA), includes a 5% raise for all faculty effective July 1, 2023 and another 5% salary increase on July 1, 2024, the union said in a statement issued Monday night.
The union represents 29,000 members including professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches, across the 23 campuses of Cal State. It posted on X after the agreement was announced to say: “In case anyone forgot, STRIKES WORK!”
“After months of negotiations, our movement … has paid off! Our members have won a Tentative Agreement … that includes raising the floor for our most vulnerable faculty, safer workplaces & expanded parental leave,” it said.
“I am extremely pleased and deeply appreciative that we have reached common ground with CFA that will end the strike immediately,” CSU Chancellor Mildred García said in a separate statement.
“The agreement enables the CSU to fairly compensate its valued, world-class faculty while protecting the university system’s long-term financial sustainability,” she added.
Thousands of Cal State faculty began striking on Monday, the first day of spring semester classes for much for the university system’s 450,000 student.
The faculty joined a growing number of workers who have walked off the job as strikes grow in popularity in the US, and especially in California. The union had been bargaining with Cal State since May.
From the United Auto Workers to Hollywood writers, nurses, Starbucks baristas and pharmacy staff, thousands of workers have gone on strike recently to demand higher pay and better working conditions.
There have been more than 400 major strikes in the past year alone, with Southern California being a particular hotbed for labor activity, according to a Cornell University school of Industrial and Labor Relations database.
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