NAMED BEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA FOR 2022 BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION AND CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Volume 161 No. 28 SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
NIKITA BANKAR | SPARTAN DAILY
Members of the California Faculty Association and other attendees protest against low wages and a tuition hike from the California State University system on Tuesday.
CFA rallies for fair wages from CSU By Nikita Bankar STAFF WRITER
The California Faculty Association held a rally on Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arch of Dignity, Equality and Justice at San José State to protest against the long-term decline of wages and rise in student tuition. The California Faculty Association (CFA) is a union of 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches who teach and provide services to the California State University system’s 485,000 students, according to its website.
We want to make sure that the 21st century does not tell the story of how our education system was destroyed, but instead how it was rebuilt, reinforced and sustained. Christopher Cox sociology lecturer
The California Faculty Association supports quality education for students and fairness for those who earn their living as teachers, and promotes policies that ensure access to higher education, according to its website bio. The California State University's board approved on Sept. 13 an annual tuition hike of 6% for at least the next five years, starting in 2024, according to a Sept. 13 article from ABC 7. Under the five year plan,
tuition will go up $342 per semester for undergraduates, and $432 for graduate students starting in Fall 2024, according to the same site. By 2027, students will be paying nearly $2,000 more than they are now. During the rally, sociology lecturer Christopher Cox said after working at SJSU for 24 years, all he and his colleagues want are dignified working and learning conditions. “We serve the people of California because we are the people of California,” Cox said. “We want to make sure that the 21st century does not tell the story of how our education system was destroyed, but instead how it was rebuilt, reinforced and sustained.” Union members continue to bargain for a 12% salary increase to address the faculty’s loss of earning power because of inflation and the high cost of living in the last couple of years, according to the CFA Sunshine Letter to Commerce Re-opener Bargaining. Cox said the state should be a place where everyone can have an opportunity to get an education, work in a dignified way and be paid a living wage. “California should be a place where everyone has an opportunity to be together in community with one another, improving our society, because we know that this society started with racism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, any kind of phobia,” Cox said. “We know the CSU has a role in fixing it, and a role in changing it.” CSU administrators have claimed they are experiencing a lack of funding, raising student fees by 34% over the next five years and denying wage increases for faculty, according to the CFA website. However, presidents for universities in the CSU system
NIKITA BANKAR | SPARTAN DAILY
An attendee holds a sign during the protest held by members of the California Faculty Association.
are being offered a 29% increase in pay. The new CSU chancellor, Mildred García, will see an annual salary of $795,000, $80,000 in annual deferred compensation, $8,000 monthly housing allowance and $1,000 monthly auto allowance, according to a July 12 article from EdSource. Ray Buyco, chapter president for San José CFA and senior history lecturer, said the CSU system is not interfacing with students and their needs that have arisen since the pandemic. Buyco also said he is tired of living paycheck to paycheck. “I’m tired of being exploited,” Buyco said. “I’m just tired of it.” Alex Lee, state assemblymember for District 24, said San José is ranked one of the most expensive places to live in the country. San José has the nation’s highest median gross rent of $2,328 and highest median monthly housing costs of $2,463 per unit of housing, surpassing San Francisco, according to a 2023 Consumer Affairs article.
San José also has a median home value of $1,119,500, making it the nation’s most expensive city for housing, according to the same site. Lee said the people that teach San José students ought to be able to live in San José. “I join you in fighting for stronger compensation, making sure you have parental leave and that you have a modest pay increase that keeps up with inflation,” Lee said. Karin Jeffery, psychology and sociology senior lecturer, said she loves how many students came out to the rally. “We are trying to ask for a living wage so we can afford to live around here and work for the CSU, which pays us way below our market value,” Jeffery said. “However, we are also here because we care about our students. The fact that they are here with us just reaffirms my commitment of being here.” Librarian Kathryn Blackmer Reyes said the students are the reason why CFA are rallying. “If we are unable to engage
with the CSU system, we will not be able to give quality time to our students in the way that we want to be able to work with students,” Blackmer Reyes said. “We are here because of you guys.” CFA is currently in the process of fact-finding, where a panel consisting of a neutral thirdparty and one representative from each side hold hearings to make recommendations for a settlement, according to Sept. 19 Instagram post. Dave Cortese, senator for District 15, said he is tired of fighting for only a living wage, and that speaking up rather than remaining silent is extremely important. “Together, we can win,” Cortese said. “If we’re silent, who wins? They do.”
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