Good Jobs Bargaining Update

Read Sandra Ramos "My CSU Story"

Bargaining continues this week, with the CSU proposing to open Article 24 (Layoffs). Our Bargaining Team and the employer are jointly reviewing the article and will continue to discuss mutual interests at the table.

During this phase of contract negotiations, we have an opportunity to share worker stories that drive our core contract objectives: salary reform; safe and secure jobs; and a pathway for advancement. For example, read the struggles Sandra Ramos faces because of her low wages working as a Custodian at San Marcos.

We need to hear from a diversity of workers - your services keep campuses operational. As we advocate for Good Jobs for Our Future, our voices and personal stories will be key when we meet with state legislators and make our case before the Board of Trustees. Share your story at www.csueu.org/MyStory and be sure you are subscribed to get the latest bargaining updates. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Let's Keep Talking With 
Student Assistants!

Team Job Security is on the move visiting campuses statewide to talk to Student Assistants and Support Staff about how we can win Good Jobs for all! What are we hearing? Exhausted voices from dedicated workers who are overworked and underpaid. 

Please continue to encourage Student Assistants at your workplace to take an important Job Duties survey (if they haven’t already). 

With salary reform, professional development and job security as our Good Jobs 2022 contract priorities, it is time to analyze and address how workload issues and out-of-classification work affect both Student Assistants and CSUEU staff. 

"Since Student Assistants are not unionized, they are treated as an expendable labor force to complete the work of CSUEU's bargaining unit staff with virtually none of the cost," said Emily Hake, Member Organizer and Communications Chair of CSUEU Stanislaus.

Hake added that this exploitation of Student Assistant labor also undermines the work of staff since staff positions are not being filled. "The system is broken and the only way to protect all our jobs is to address these workload issues. We're all on the same team."

Team Job Security will continue to host Pizza for Parity events at campuses throughout the state. Get updates on our Good Jobs for the Future Student Assistants campaign by following us on Instagram and TikTok! 

Emergency Pay Settlement
Award Update

Last December, more than 6,000 CSUEU members voted to accept a settlement agreement that awarded $5 million to employees who worked on campus between March 20, 2020 and May 31, 2020.

Based on a list provided by the CSU, some 4,300 Non-Exempt and more than 500 Exempt employees will receive compensation. The Union is working diligently with the state Controller’s Office to get award checks into our members’ hands by the end of May.

Our CSUEU Bargaining Team is working to correct the Emergency Pay provision in our contract so that all employees in the future will be properly compensated if they are required to work during a campus emergency, whether it be through a natural disaster or a pandemic.

If you have questions, contact CSUEU President Catherine Hutchinson at: chutchinson@csueu.org or Researcher Andy Heller at aheller@csueu.org 

CSU Keeps Making Headlines

The CSU and its former chancellor continue to make national headlines, and not in a good way. The first bombshell was in February, with an investigation by USA Today revealing serious mismanagement by the CSU in handling sexual harassment and misconduct allegations made against a top administrator at CSU Fresno.

At the time, former Chancellor Joseph I. Castro was the campus president. Mr. Castro subsequently resigned, walking away with a $400,000 severance package, courtesy of the Board of Trustees. Days after that news, two other highly negative articles disclosed:

* Even with full knowledge about Frank Lamas, the Fresno administrator who was the subject of credible harassment allegations, Mr. Castro had nominated Mr. Lamas to be president at CSU San Marcos. 

* Since 2015, the CSU has paid more than $4 million in salary and benefits “to a small group of former executives as part of a program to help with the ‘transition’ after they step down from their posts.” 

Cleary, the system needs reform. The CSU must prioritize students, staff and faculty and stop inflicting wounds on its core mission, which is providing quality higher education to lift up the next generation.

In Other News

Most Campuses Opt-In to CSU Telecommuting Policy 
Twenty CSU campuses currently have a telecommuting policy covering CSUEU-represented employees, 15 of which opted in to use the statewide policy the Union negotiated with the CSU last year. That leaves four campuses without a telecommuting policy. View the campus list. 

SEIU Virtual Summit on Climate, Jobs, and Justice
SEIU is holding its 2022 virtual summit on climate, jobs, and justice on Saturday, April 9 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. 300 SEIU members participated in the first climate summit last year, and more member climate activists are expected this year.

CSUEU members are invited to this event. Register here. More information in both English and Spanish is included in this flyer.
 

Hold the Dates!

Various CSUEU Constituency Groups will host Zoom forums for members and Student Assistants to come together with common interests. The first is Chicanx/Latinx (March 25, 6 p.m.) and the second forum will center on Disability Activism (April 20, 12 Noon). More information and Zoom links will be shared closer to the date of the events.

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