CSUSB Trades Workers Strike Feb. 17 After CSU Denies Contract Pay Steps While Executives Get Raises

Faculty, staff and students at Cal State San Bernardino rallied Feb. 5 in support of campus maintenance and skilled trades workers preparing to strike later this month, accusing California State University leadership of denying negotiated raises while approving higher pay for executives.

Maintenance workers represented by Teamsters Local 2010 are scheduled to picket from Feb. 17 through Feb. 20 after voting overwhelmingly to authorize what union leaders described as an unfair labor practice strike. The union represents approximately 1,100 skilled trades employees across the 22-campus CSU system, including electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and other facilities workers responsible for maintaining campus infrastructure.

Ernesto Torres, a CSUSB facilities project supervisor and vice president of Teamsters Local 2010, said workers are seeking raises they believe were already secured through contract negotiations.

“We had already bargained a contract that would fulfill a 3% raise in our third year of our contract,” Torres said. “The state budget has come back positive and the CSU is still denying us that 3%. That’s why we are pushing back.”

Torres said maintenance workers are responsible for keeping CSUSB operational despite limited staffing levels.

“We’re supporting a campus of 400 acres,” Torres said. “We have about 37 members for over 400 acres of land. We’re running on skeleton crews. Still fulfilling the job, still keeping our students safe and still doing our work.”

Maintenance workers perform essential functions necessary for campus safety and operations, he said.

“We have heating and air guys, we have electricians here on campus. We have plumbers,” Torres said. “We keep the lights on. We keep the air conditioning going. We keep the students safe. We keep the whole infrastructure and learning spaces safe for students.”

The “Let Them Eat Cake” event, held along Coyote Walk and organized by the California Faculty Association and Academic Professionals of California, drew attention to the contract dispute and encouraged faculty, staff and students to support the upcoming strike.

Union leaders said the dispute centers on negotiated salary increases that CSU leadership has declined to implement, offering instead a one-time payment.

“They had a negotiated contract with the CSU that Chancellor Mildred Garcia is not honoring,” said Thomas Corrigan, a communication and media faculty member at CSUSB and vice president of the California Faculty Association’s San Bernardino chapter. “What were supposed to be step increases for their contract, they’re not getting those raises, and instead they’re being offered a one-time 3% bonus, which might help in the short run but doesn’t help with long-term salary and affordability issues, doesn’t help with their retirement, it doesn’t help them build toward sustainability and security.”

Faculty leaders said the one-time payment does not provide lasting compensation gains because it does not increase base salaries or retirement benefits.

Tiffany Jones, professor of history and president of the California Faculty Association’s San Bernardino chapter, said the rally was intended to highlight what unions view as disparities between executive compensation and frontline worker pay.

“We have administrators who make massive amounts. Millie Garcia is our chancellor and she makes up to a million dollars a year,” Jones said. “And then we have workers who have negotiated pay increases that she is refusing to give them. They are only offering a 3% bonus, which is not on top of your pay. It doesn’t actually increase your pay.”

Jones said faculty unions are standing in solidarity with maintenance workers ahead of the strike.

“All the unions have rejected that, and we are standing in solidarity with Teamsters 2010 in particular, who are going on strike from Feb. 17 to Feb. 20,” Jones said. “We are here just to say enough is enough and make sure you place the money back with the people who actually make the system work.”

Faculty leaders said maintenance workers’ responsibilities underscore their importance to daily campus operations.

“They’re the ones who keep the lights on. They keep us cool. They keep us warm. They make sure our restrooms are working and clean,” Jones said. “Without them, we could not do our jobs.”

Corrigan said the rally was organized to demonstrate faculty support for workers whose roles are critical to campus safety and infrastructure.

“We’re here at an event called ‘Let Them Eat Cake,’” Corrigan said. “They work on the facilities and maintenance side of the university — things like HVAC, elevators, those sorts of critical needs for campus safety and efficiency, so we’re here to support them.”

The rally featured cupcakes, informational materials and commitment cards encouraging attendees to support the strike and contact CSU leadership and elected officials.

“The public can send emails to Chancellor Mildred Garcia,” Torres said. “They can call their local senate office to keep funding us, to treat us with respect and dignity. We’re not being treated with respect and dignity. Yet we’re here to serve our students every day.”

Faculty leaders also encouraged students, staff and community members to show support during the strike.

“The public can support by talking about the conditions, the working conditions of the Teamsters,” Jones said. “They can not cross the picket line. They can come out and support on the picket line when they are picketing.”

The planned strike is expected to affect CSU campuses statewide and draw attention to ongoing labor tensions between university leadership and maintenance workers responsible for keeping facilities safe and operational.