Miguel Terán López, Statewide Member Organizer and Chair of CSUEU’s Chicanx/Latinx Constituency Group at the “Pizza for Parity” event.
By Gabriel Anthony Gomez, Staff Reporter
The California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) made their first appearance at California State University, Dominguez Hills to discuss their current contract bargaining, union difference and gather student assistants to campaign against the overworking and underpaying conditions the union believes many student workers face. According to CSUEU, student assistants could have a pathway for better pay, increased benefits, and workplace protections.
Upon their arrival, last Tuesday, the CSUEU member organizers from all around the 23 campus system hosted the “Pizza for Parity” event, along the LSU East Walkway, in hopes to assemble current CSUDH student assistants to complete a survey which will help gather contact information and about the job duties that students are being asked to do.
CSUEU represents 16,000 employees across the California State University system. The union has a labor contract which expires in approximately three months, in June of this year. The contract covers staff salaries and current benefits. Before the contract’s expiration CSUEU intends to renegotiate some of the components of this contract, which include salary reform, job security and pathway for advancement.
According to Emily Hake, a CSUEU Member Organizer of “Good Jobs for Our Future,” the Union’s campaign that wants to help advance workers, student assistants provide immense support to higher education, but are not valued as they should be. “student assistants stay in these jobs because they care deeply about fellow students and their campuses, and they value the professional development and networking opportunities that working on campus brings. [They] shouldn’t have to struggle for the sake of resume building,” Hake said.
The CSUEU’s three demands stem from the “Good Jobs 2022 for Our Future” campaign. The Legislative branch of CSUEU is working with the CSU, Mercer and the Teamsters on the salary study which is expected to be done at the end of March. This study looks at all the different wages that staff make and compares them to their compatriots in the market. This will help deal with the inversion and salary reform. They feel like there is a ceiling for pay, but not a floor.
Last fall, [CSUEU] CSU employers did a salary survey [of union members] from staff, working in units which include information technology, healthcare, clerical, administrative and academic support, campus operations, grounds and custodial. According to Hake, the survey shows that employees are overworked and not receiving honest pay. “We’ve heard time and time again when talking to staff and student assistants that they are overworked and underpaid, many face food and housing insecurity, “ she said. “Some student assistants are staffing their campus food pantries and are taking the food home themselves at the end of their shift because they can’t afford food. How ironic is that?” she added.
For Miguel Terán López, Statewide Member Organizer and Chair of CSUEU’s Chicanx/Latinx Constituency Group, equitable treatment should not be an individualized luxury, but something that is given to all employees. “Our goal is not only for staff members to benefit, but to bring student assistants into the union so they can be protected and receive benefits. The union is in support of student assistants,” he said.
Throughout the last couple of months, CSUEU organizers have focused on speaking and collecting testimonies from individuals from several CSU campuses. “We had some student assistants that we spoke with who became emotional and cried because they were so moved with us campaigning to support, stand with them and let them know that they’re not alone,” Terán López said.
The employees union is expected to visit every CSU campus in the coming months in order to connect with student assistants and document their needs. “We stand with you. We understand the challenges, the difficulties you are experiencing and want to make sure that you are protected,” Terán López said.
CSUEU is scheduled to visit California State University, Bakersfield, Chico, Channel Islands, Fresno, Pomona, Sacramento, Stanislaus and San Francisco State University in the coming weeks.
Student assistants that are interested in reaching out to CSUEU can submit a Job Duties Survey and complete a membership form to show their commitment to join the union. They can also get more involved in the campaign by following CSUEU on Instagram and TikTok @csueu_organizing, or email students@csueu.org
“We believe there is power in numbers, and only by utilizing our collective power and voice can we make a change in the system.” Hake said.
For more information visit CSUEU’s website, https://www.csueu.org/future
