Cal State Faculty Members Strike
The faculty at Cal State Dominguez Hills held a one day strike Thursday to protest salary disputes with university administrators.
The Carson campus rang with chants saying, "We are! We teach! The 99 percent!" A part from salary disputes, California Faculty Association said they are also protesting classroom-level budget cuts at CSU campuses.
"Leadership in the CSU that is not prioritizing the people in the trenches, not prioritizing the students, the staff and faculty, but using us as if we are ATM machines," said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association and history professor at Cal State Los Angeles.
CSU professors say the last straw was the board of trustees' decision to deny the faculty's request for a 1.3 percent salary increase. An independent panel claims this raise is possible based on the budget, according to the association.
"I haven't had a raise in four years," said Kimberly King, psychology professor at Cal State L.A. "I have a P.H.D., I'm still paying off my student loads because I come from a working class family."
Professors believe that their protest is no different from the Occupy L.A. protest that occurred Thursday as well.
"I think that there's a deep sense of solidarity between the two movements and there's a lot of overlap between the two movements," philosophy professor Jay Conway said.
Unlike Wednesday's violent strike in Long Beach, the strike at Cal State Dominguez Hills was safe and peaceful.
"So far it's been a peaceful demonstration and very civil," Brenda Knepper, director of communications and public affairs at CSU Dominguez Hills, said. "We're happy that people are protesting in a non-violent way."
The president of the Cal State stated the teachers' anger should be directed at the state.
"The one-day strike is another reminder of the devastating impact that reductions in state support have had on higher education," President Dr. Mildred Garcia said.
More than 250 professors took part in the demonstration and they plan to return to their jobs tomorrow.
While the campus remained open during the strike, some classes were canceled.
