Negotiations between the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) and the CSU Board of Trustees are at a standstill. The two sides met for another round of talks on Sept. 19, on the North Lawn at CSUDH.
At issue are employees’ concerns over their general salary, and their request to change the current salary system from an open-range progression system to a step scale system. According to CSUEU, a step scale system would make it easier for all employees to receive raises consistently.
Under the current in-range sala- ry system, employees must request an increase directly from their supervisors and managers. CSUEU is proposing a twenty-step scale that would include a minimum salary increase of two percent per year, and a six-percent increase to the general salary in the first year. To progress up the scale, employees must receive at least a “Satisfactory” performance evaluation.
The Bulletin spoke with several CSU board members who attend- ed the negotiations on the North Lawn. However, those board members declined to comment on the state of talks.
In an email to The Bulletin, a spokesperson for the CSU Chancellor’s Office said CSU would “continue to negotiate in good faith with the goal of reaching an agreement that fairly com- pensates employees.”
CSUDH President Thomas Parham also remarked on the ongoing wage negotiations. In an email to The Bulletin, Pres- ident Parham said he appreciated “the hard work” of the university’s faculty and staff who “make it possible for CSUDH to carry out its mission.”
“These staff and faculty deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. I also understand the budgetary constraints of our university and the CSU system,” President Parham said. “With all this in mind, I remain hopeful that negotiations between our employee unions and the CSU Chancellor’s Office result in an agreement.”
CSUEU members rallied around campus immediately after the meeting. Rallygoers marched from the North Lawn toward the Leo F. Cain Library, shouting, “contract now.”
CSUEU President Catherine Hutchin- son said, “CSU is listening,” but employees “still need to see some movement” on the offers being proposed.
“They see that we are all tired – whether its faculty, staff, or student – we’re all tired of how the CSU has been running on the backs of us,” said Hutchinson, who is a biology technician at CSU-Channel Islands. “They need to make our backs stronger if they want to keep us around.”
Senior Loraine Perez is a student-employee and student leader for the CSUDH Queer Culture and Resource Center. Perez said there are several maintenance and operations workers doing a lot for CSU every day, but they are not getting their fair due or receiving proper support.
“[CSU] administration is not doing as much as these folks on the ground level are,” Perez said.
Khiem Ha is an I.T. staff member at CSUDH and the CSUEU Chapter President for Dominguez Hills. He said the post-meeting rally was not only about demanding an increase in pay, but more respect from CSU overall.
Samira Mijangos and Nora Arias are maintenance employees who have worked at the university for over twenty years. Mijangos and Arias expressed concerns over what they described as stagnant wages and unfair compensation over the last two decades.
“I have been working here for 22 years already and we have only seen one raise to our pay, a long time ago,” Mijangos said. “The rest of that money is going where?”
CSUEU Dominguez Hills Chapter Vice President Miguel Terán López said the post-meeting rally shows CSU that workers “are serious about getting fair compensation.” Lopez emphasized that CSUEU’s salary demands are part of a broader effort to secure better conditions for workers.
“CSUEU [is] fighting for our own rights while we remain supported by our sister unions, including the California Faculty Association, Academic Professionals of California, Teamsters, and United Auto Workers,” Lopez said. “It shows that we are working together and we are building a coalition of unions so that the CSU does not divide us and pin us against each other.”
