Members from four campus labor organizations marched across campus towards the administration’s offices in Valera Hall. The joint effort “Four Unions, One Fight” marked a significant escalation in ongoing contract negotiations with the CSU administration.

The unions included Academic Professionals of California (APC), California Faculty Association (CFA), California State University Employees Union (CSUEU), and Teamsters Local 2010.

After months of no negotiations, workers and unions are demanding change. The rally was a visual display of solidarity in a system-wide frustration with labor leaders described as refusing to offer meaningful wage increases and the cost-of-living crisis across California.

At noon, staff, student assistants and faculty allies united and lined up in front of the library. The song “9-to-5” by Dolly Parton was played, which held symbolic meaning for the rally.

People chanted “No Contract, No Peace,” and cars passing by the rally honked to show solidarity with the unions.

“The need to fight for what is right and for the future generations,” the group chanted.

The march circled the University Library and made its way around the Library Lawn before congregating in front of Valera Hall, where representatives from the different unions each spoke to the crowd.

Angelique Vantoux, one of the CSUEU’s main leaders and speakers, said union members have faced years of severe underpayment. Vantoux highlighted 2023 research data showing how CSU has systematically underpaid employees by at least 30%. She said she was frustrated that despite these findings, CSU has offered only a minor 1% raise.

Christopher Rooney, campus steward and member of the Teamsters bargaining team, has worked as a metal worker at CSUN for 35 years. He spoke on a recurring point: a criticism of the wage gap between administration and other CSU employees.

“They got the money from the state legislature to give us our raises and then they turned around and didn’t give us raises,” Rooney said. “ Instead, they gave prizes to the presidents and their highest executives.”

Rooney and others agree it might take even more to get the administration’s attention.

“My personal opinion is the only way to get them to budge is to shut the campus down and we are willing to do it,” Rooney said

No details have been shared about when a strike or shutdown may happen.

Ana Prata, vice president of the California Faculty Association (CFA), said they are not only fighting for better wages but for better rights, including living costs and parental leave.

“We want a fair contract, we want cost of living adjustments, we want a path towards a good contract that protects us from AI,” Prata said. “We want a semester of parental leave. I think that’s fair for our faculty that they don’t come back before the semester when they have their baby. So I think there’s a lot of things in the contract that we’re fighting for, keeping our health benefits.”

It has been 2 years since CSU employees have gotten a raise. Some members claim that administrators get raises every year, but they aren’t getting any raises at all and their wages have not kept up with the cost of living.

People displayed posters that read “What do we want? Raises. When do we want them? Now,” demanding raises. They are only getting an incentive/promise of a 1.5% raise, which is less than what they should actually receive or demand.

Terri Richardson, a member of Academic Professional of California (APC) representing all academic advisors, shares the importance of unions and how, with unity, there are better possibilities of achieving change.

“I think it’s absolutely necessary to show the administration that it’s not just one union. It’s all of us that want change, that want fair contracts,” Richardson said. “Unions fight for workers and workers come together and protect each other. Because in the future, if you get in a union, you’ll feel protected, like they can’t just fire you whenever they want to.”

The pressure remains on CSU leadership to return with a contract that respects workers who keep running the university.