Updated 6 p.m. Saturday
The California State University system has reached a tentative contract deal with the union representing skilled trades workers on its campuses. That means those workers will no longer be on the picket lines alongside CSU faculty members who will begin their strike on Monday.
“We achieved this historic agreement by standing together as Teamsters — and in solidarity with our sister Unions at CSU — to take powerful action like CSU has never seen before,” said Jason Rabinowitz, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 2010, in a statement on their website.
Teamsters Local 2010, which represents 1,100 CSU workers, including plumbers, electricians and carpenters, announced they had reached a “historic” tentative agreement with CSU late Friday, some of the details of which were posted on their website on Saturday. The three-year deal includes an immediate 5% general salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2023, and a new salary advancement system, as well as protections for members’ pensions and more.
The agreement must still be voted on by union members and brought to the CSU Board of Trustees for final approval in March.
In a statement late Friday, CSU Chancellor Mildred García praised the collective bargaining process.
“The work of our Teamsters-represented employees is invaluable, providing our students with an environment that supports their success, and I am thankful and appreciative that we have been able to arrive at a fiscally sustainable agreement that fairly compensates them for their skilled and dedicated work,” García said in the statement.
The California Faculty Association — which had announced on Jan. 18 that it was “proud and excited to be joined by Teamsters Local 2010 members” — congratulated Teamsters in a tweet late Saturday while announcing that CFA members would still begin their weeklong strike “bright and early Monday, rain or shine.”
The CFA has been negotiating for a 12% general pay increase (PDF), along with other benefits, since May of last year. But with talks at an impasse, the CSU on Jan. 9 announced it was “concluding contract negotiations” and would be providing a general salary increase of 5% to all instructional faculty, librarians, counselors and coaches effective Jan. 31, adding that the 5% raise is “consistent with agreements the CSU has already reached with five of its labor unions.”
KQED’s Lakshmi Sarah, Juan Carlos Lara, Attila Pelit and Dana Cronin contributed to this story.
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