Around 1,200 skilled trades workers in the California State University ( CSU) system are still waiting for governors to keep their promises, make excuses, and pay the wage increase owed since 2025 despite the increase in state funding.

Workers were absent from the scene of the obscene opposition that System 6 of Teamsters Local 2010 members held on Monday in front of the Long Beach Marriott resort, where the 16 users of the CSU board of directors met for a meeting in November 2025 approved pay increases and achievement bonuses for college presidents and sin chancellors.

The school system is plagued by substantial budget shortfalls, education increases, and conflicts with university unions, but the board of regents ' choice raised base salaries for chancellors to an average of nearly half a million dollars.

For instance, Berenecea Johnson Eanes earns a salary of$ 521, 024, plus$ 80, 000 for housing, and a 5 % annual "performance bonus," while Loren J. Blanchard, CSU Long Beach's chancellor, earns$ 543, 742 annually, is offered housing and has deferred compensation of$ 61, 244.

The highest wages, however, are those made by San Luis Obispo University's Jeffrey D. Armstrong, who is the leader of the CSU Northridge campus, and Erika D. Beck, who is leader of the CSU Northridge campus, who are paid$ 563, 012. The 22 CSU campus presidents ' salaries alone total about$ 11 million.

the laborers, too?

Depending on their field of work, skilled union workers make between$ 70,000 and$ 100,000 annually on average.

They all have special expertise in what they do, and we pride ourselves on ensuring that our employees consistently perform the tasks that have been assigned to them, according to Ali Tweini, coverage director for Teamsters Local 2010. However, the advantages the CSU system receives from them considerably outweigh what it pays them.

28, 000 workers in the education field and 1, 200 workers who they claim haven't been paid good wages are represented by Teamsters Local 2010 in California.

" We have been negotiating since July 2025, and officials have received double-digit raises, while the CSU has offered zero income boosts," said Ali Tweini. The most recent negotiating conference, which took place a week ago, came to an end.

He said," They came in empty-handed. " They did not make any proposals, and that is why we think they are not engaging in fair negotiations, the coalition chief continued.

Folks "everywhere we go, want to know who we are," they say. So we say to them," We are the Teamsters! " The powerful Teamsters! Fighting for fairness and pay"! Long Beach demonstrators chanted loud English-language songs on the road of Ocean Boulevard.

Battle for a respectable income

Dennis Sotomayor, a 2010 Teamsters Local member, spoke about the efforts made by California State University ( CSU) employees to fight for justice.

They "refuse to negotiate in good faith and do not give us workers a living wage," he said, despite receiving total funding from the state and more money from the governor. He has worked as a maintenance engineer in Pasadena for 26 years, making$ 65,500 annually, excluding time, to support his family.

Because his partner runs, she has been on disability left for four weeks, which has made his financial situation worse.

He "has a sitting problem," Sotomayor explained," and my partner spends a lot of time at work. " His two babies, both of whom are 90 years old, reside with him.

Sotomayor claimed administrators have received increases while CSU has not been able to meet the wage increases mandated by the deal.

We first and foremost demand fairness and value. This conflict has been ongoing for centuries. The CSU keeps engaging in deceptive negotiations. They are unwilling to discuss anything. In Sacramento, we have marched on the Capitol and in reality, we fought to get money from the legislature. Despite our assistance in overcoming their revenue challenges, they continue to refuse to provide a living wage.

At California State University, Los Angeles, Sotomayor, a professor in the public health department, emphasized that the focus is solely on advance at function. They're frequently firing individuals and not hiring new ones either.

We employ joint workers, he continued. Given the current economic climate, we constantly run the risk of being laid off if they have to pay us more, but we have come to a place where the battle is true. Simply put, we need assistance. Working people must be able to succeed.

Workers and representatives from the California Labor Federation ( CLF), the California Faculty Association ( CFA ), the California Employees Union, the California Academic Professionals ( APC ), and the California Labor Federation ( CLF ) joined the noisy protest.

“If necessary, we are willing to go on strike to achieve better wages and working conditions,” stressed Gregory Christopher Brown, of the CFA Association. "We know that thanks to the union strength, CSU works. If we don't work, the university doesn't work. If necessary—even if we don't want to do it—we will go on strike if necessary."

Brown assured that they have the support of faculty, staff and students, as well as the CFA, librarians, counselors and coaches.

“Our taxes”

Similarly, Cliff Smith, union representative of local section 36 of the Roofers and Waterproofers Union, criticized that administrators of the CSU university education system increase the salaries of administrators and consultants, while workers do not receive any salary increase.

“Money for education, not for deportation” and “Only the people save the people” read on a protesters' sign, to which Smith referred: “Certainly the administration—even though it is a public university—does not look out for the best interests of either its own employees or the California community in general.”

"The CSU system is financed by our taxes. Our children must be able to afford their studies in these institutions, but the administration only seeks its own benefit. Only the people can save us," he indicated.

CSU's response

Amy Bentley-Smith, director of communications, said California State University (CSU) was notified on June 29 of this year of the state budget allocation for fiscal year 2026-27 and has since submitted its initial salary proposals for that period to its union partners.

"These proposals mark the beginning of pay negotiations, not their conclusion. In all sectors, collective bargaining is not resolved by a single proposal; it is a process that involves ongoing negotiations and the exchange of counterproposals. The CSU remains committed to this process and to conducting good faith negotiations with each of its employee unions," it said in a statement.

He added that for both the CSUEU (California State University Employees Union) and the Teamsters, the CSU's initial proposal included the full implementation of pay scales, a measure identified by both unions as a top priority.

"It is important to note that this was the CSU's initial offer. Additional negotiation sessions have already been scheduled, which will provide the parties with new opportunities to continue negotiating," he stressed.

However, he stated that, “unfortunately, upon receiving CSU's initial salary proposal for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the California Faculty Association (CFA) immediately declared an impasse in negotiations.”

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