Bargaining continues in January, CSU budget is cut by another $100 million, legislators call for an independent investigation of the November 16 CSU Board of Trustees meeting, new women's caucus is formed, and more!    

December 13: CSUEU released this statement in response to the Department of Finance’s action this morning to enact $1 billion in mid-year trigger cuts, including $100 million in cuts to the CSU system.   

At least three initiatives for increased education funding have made it to the fall ballot--but, unfortunately, they could cancel each other out. In this December 11 Los Angeles Times opinion piece, American Prospect editor at large Harold Meyerson spells out the problems presented by this glut of pro-education measures.   

On December 7, we lost one of our union sisters, Annette Lujan, 48, in a tragic elevator accident at the CSU Long Beach Foundation building. Annette had worked for the last nine years on campus, including five years in the University Office of Research for Grants and Contracts.   

The CSUEU bargaining team met with CSU management at the Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach from Monday, December 5, through Thursday, December 8, with Thursday as an additional day beyond the originally scheduled three days of sessions. The two sides reached a tentative agreement on many articles of the contract. Importantly, protection from layoffs is included in the agreement.   

This December 4 Sacramento Bee editorial argues that the CSU Board of Trustees was wrong to cancel its December 5 meeting for fear of dissent and instead needs to focus on administrator salary hikes and other legitimate reasons for the level of angry dissent that the board is now encountering.   

Contract bargaining resumes this Monday, CSU cancels next Board of Trustees meeting, legislature schedules hearing on police responses to campus protests, a mid-year trigger cut to the CSU budget looks likely, LA Times commentary on public worker pensions draws negative online comments, and more!   

The CSU Employees Union released the following comments today in the wake of the CSU Board of Trustees’ November 16 closed meeting:

“The CSU may well have violated the Bagley-Keene Act in taking action in a closed meeting that should have been public. We’re aware of several members of the public and at least one reporter who were excluded from the meeting.   

In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press on Friday morning, November 18, CSUEU President Pat Gantt gave voice to the frustration of everyone who was excluded from the CSU Board of Trustees' closed meeting on November 16. During that meeting, the legality of which is questionable at best, the board voted in favor of yet another tuition fee hike. "The series of decisions and actions in the last trustee meeting is further indication that the CSU administration cares little about the public, the students, or any of the employees," said Gantt. The resulting article was published in the San Jose Mercury News, among many media outlets around the country.   

CSUEU makes its voice heard at Tuesday's and yesterday's CSU Board of Trustees meeting, CSUEU supports CFA's strike today, Toni Kukreja contributes a first-person account of her involvement with Occupy Long Beach, the new Lavender Caucus plans its first meeting, and more!