The faculty at California State University, Fullerton, will be on strike from January 22 to 26. This action is part of an unprecedented state-wide action called by the California Faculty Association, a union of more than 29 thousand faculty across 23 campuses. 

Classes taught by striking faculty are canceled. Faculty members hope that the disruption of classes and a deserted campus will bring the Chancellor and her team back to the bargaining table. The administration walked out of negotiations on January 4, rejecting the union’s proposals outright and imposing a five percent raise beginning January 31 (which amounts to a pay cut relative to inflation and only 2.5 percent for the current academic year). 

The administration claims that they can’t afford bigger raises. But Cal State’s new chancellor received a nearly $800,000 base salary — 66 percent more than what a predecessor earned in 2020. Last year, several campus presidents received raises of as much as 29 percent. 

In contrast, lecturers–who make up 61 percent of faculty and teach 75 percent of our students– take home about $54,000 a year–if they are fortunate enough to get a full teaching load. 

The California Faculty Association has asked the university system for the following: An across-the-board 12 percent pay raise (C.O.L.A. plus 4 percent) and additional raises in the wage floor for the most precarious faculty members: part-time, contingent instructors (the majority of CSU faculty); provision of gender-inclusive restrooms and nursing/lactation spaces in campus buildings; and an expansion of student mental health service staffing, limits to armed policing on campus, and an extension of paid family leave to an entire semester. 

CSUF faculty will be picketing all day, every day, January 22-26, at the entrance to CSU Fullerton’s campus along Nutwood Street at Folino Drive and along Yorba Linda Blvd. There will be a rally on Monday at noon. 

The California Faculty Association is a union of 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors, and coaches who teach and provide services to the California State University system’s 485,000 students. On the 23 CSU campuses, CFA members work hard to teach our students the critical-thinking skills, the technical know-how, and the cultural insights they need to be thoughtful, productive, and artistic participants in our society. 

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