The California Faculty Association (CFA) union, which has about 30,000 members, said in a statement that they have started a one-week work stoppage starting today against the university administration, which has not accepted their demands for "higher wages and longer maternity leave".
The statement said that approximately 30,000 union members, including professors, researchers, librarians and other workers, will continue the strike throughout the week at 23 different campuses of the CSU.
In the statement, it was noted that the "12 percent wage increase" they demanded from the CSU administration was not accepted, and it was stated that the university has more than 766 million dollars in reserve funds in its accounts.
CSU officials, on the other hand, explained that their salary demands were not financially viable, but that they had the power to give a 5 percent salary increase.
CSU Vice Chancellor Leora Freedman stated that the reserve fund cannot be used for wage increases, and that this money is reserved for emergencies such as economic uncertainty, fire or earthquake.
CFA members have organized a series of strikes demanding "higher wages, more manageable workloads and an increase in parental leave."
