Job actions include a range of organized activities from informational picketing and rallies to sick-outs and strikes. We escalate our job actions to build and demonstrate our power. From interrupting a convocation speech at CSU Long Beach to handing out flyers at Chico State, we have already been taking actions across the state.

Be clear that job actions are possible: If you have not yet done so, we strongly encourage you to share our sample language in your syllabus, Canvas page, LibGuides, or other similar communications to students. 

We don’t want to go take job actions, but too much is at stake: It’s important that students are made aware that the risk of a strike or other job actions may disrupt their studies and possibly even the availability of their grades. Alfredo Carlos, CFA Dominguez Hills member and labor studies professor, created two helpful videos that explain the difference between a strike and other job actions (see here and here). 

As Carlos points out, we are doing everything we can to avoid a strike or other job actions, because we understand the serious impact they may have on students. Going on strike is a last resort. However, it’s because we care about our students and the future of higher education that we feel obligated to address the ongoing issues through bargaining, such as unfair pay, workload, precarity, lack of shared governance, and academic freedom.  

Many of our faculty experience hardship because of their working conditions, and their burdens are being passed on to students. As a faculty member, you can share aspects of your working conditions with students and why this fight matters to you. 

The blame lies with management: Let your students know that the chancellor and CSU management hold all the power in deciding what will happen for the rest of the semester. They can fix the problems they caused through their years of neglect by offering us a fair contract that recognizes that faculty working conditions are student learning conditions and that the CSU system is for the education of our students, not funding the luxurious salaries and lifestyles of CSU administrators. 

We’re not alone: We are joined by all our other CSU sibling unions, including Teamsters Local 2010 members (who represent our skilled trade workers), CSU Employees Union (who represent the office workers, custodians, student workers, etc.), Academic Professional of California, and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. We are all in this fight together. Our sibling unions are also in contract negotiations with management and are encountering similar barriers to a just contract. We are in solidarity with all those whose labor makes the CSU work. 

Be honest and transparent: Invite students to ask questions and answer them honestly, as they may be emotionally distressed or simply want to know how they can support us. If you don’t have the answers, you can let them know that you will follow up with them afterward. If you need clarification on any related matter, reach out to your campus’s bargaining team representative, your CFA chapter executive board, or your CFA field representative. 

For students who want to support our efforts, you may want to consider connecting them with the Students for Quality Education (SQE) interns on your campus, but reach out to your chapter field representative first. You can also share our SQE Disorientation Guide with them, which provides an introduction to student and faculty issues caused by management that hinders the mission of the CSU. 

Finally, keep students in the loop: As the statutory process moves forward, we may need to adjust our strategies depending on the circumstances. Let students know you will keep them updated throughout the semester as you receive new information from CFA leadership.

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