CSU offered one-time bonuses instead of raises. These employees plan to strike
California State University employees are preparing to strike over the university’s proposal to replace raises with one-time bonuses due to the university system’s precarious budget situation.
Plumbers, electricians and other skilled trade workers represented by Teamsters Local 2010 approved a strike authorization vote last week by over 90%, said Jason Rabinowitz, the union’s principal officer. Local 2010 represents 1,100 CSU employees across 22 campuses.
“They’re handing out enormous raises to their executives, averaging close to 10%,” Rabinowitz said. “Meanwhile, frontline workers at CSU currently are getting no raise this year, and that’s just wrong. Members feel really mistreated, taken advantage of.”
Last month, CSU’s board of trustees approved raises for 13 university presidents, which ranged from 5% to 20%, after a study found that those executives were paid “well below” that of leaders at peer institutions.
The union is preparing to strike over the university system pausing the roll-out of step raises enshrined in Local 2010’s contract with CSU. University officials said CSU is unable to pay for those salary increases because the Legislature cut the university system’s budget by 3% earlier this year.
To help cover salary expenses, including bonuses for university employees, CSU accepted a $144 million zero-interest loan from the state that must be repaid by July 2026.
Because that money is not ongoing state funding, the university and the union reopened the contract to negotiate new terms for workers’ salaries, Amy Bentley-Smith, spokesperson for the CSU Office of the Chancellor, said in a statement.
Bentley-Smith said the strike vote was disappointing, but she noted that the vote does not mean a strike is imminent. She said CSU is hopeful that mediation with Teamsters will help the parties reach an agreement.
“We believe the time and resources of all parties would be more productively devoted to the bargaining table, where meaningful progress can be made, rather than toward preparing for a strike,” Bentley-Smith said.
Rabinowitz said the strike details, such as the date and duration, are still being finalized. The union went on strike at least twice in recent years as the current contract was under negotiations, Rabinowitz said.
That contract secured step raises, or periodic salary increases, for CSU employees. The raises university employees were scheduled to receive this July were intended to raise workers’ pay to its target step after years of advocating by the union, Rabinowitz said.
“It’s particularly a shame to have another fight and another strike when we’ve already fought over this, and we’ve already resolved it and agreed to a contract,” he said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 10:17 AM.
