Skilled Trades members overwhelmingly authorize statewide strike
January 25, 2026
Workers demand CSU cease unfair practices, honor contractual raises
Teamsters Local 2010, representing 1,100 skilled trades workers across the California State University (CSU) system, announced in late December 2025 that members voted by an overwhelming 94 percent to authorize a strike at campuses statewide. The vote follows months of CSU’s commission of numerous unfair labor practices and refusal to pay contractually guaranteed July 2025 raises and salary step increases.
1,100 skilled trades Teamsters are poised to walk off the job if the CSU continues to violate labor law.
The vote allows Teamsters to call a strike should the CSU continue to violate labor law, disregard our contract, and break their promises to the workers who keep the nation’s largest public university system operating safely every day.
“CSU is steering itself into a completely avoidable battle with the Teamsters Union. Our members will not stand by while the University commits unfair practices, misuses state funds, breaks its promises, and enriches executives at the expense of the workers who keep its campuses running,” said Jason Rabinowitz, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 2010. “CSU’s greed, dishonesty and disrespect for its workforce are indefensible. This vote makes clear that we are ready to strike if CSU continues to rip us off while lining their own pockets.”
Ernesto Torres, Teamsters Local 2010 Vice President and Bargaining Team member and Facilities Project Supervisor at CSU San Bernardino, said, “The CSU would much rather give presidents and executives 9% raises than invest in the futures of skilled trades workers who keep the heating and air working, the water running, the lights on and our campuses safe for students and the CSU community. We make CSU work. Without our labor, there would be no campuses in operation.”
Teamsters Local 2010 has filed grievances and Unfair Labor Practice charges against CSU and are currently at an impasse in negotiations over the CSU’s failure to pay the bargained-for raises. With the overwhelming strike authorization, workers have made clear they are prepared to take statewide action if CSU continues to break the law, ignore their contract, and refuse to pay the raises that its skilled workforce is owed.
Local 2010 won back salary steps in 2024 after nearly three decades of stagnation caused by CSU’s refusal to allow workers to advance within their pay scales. Last year, CSU received full funding in the California State budget to bring all Skilled Trades workers up to the appropriate salary step based on their number of years in their classification and support compensation increases—funding secured in large part through Teamsters’ lobbying and advocacy efforts.
Instead of using those funds as intended, the CSU is attempting to replace the contractual raises and salary step increases with a one-time bonus worth far less than what workers are owed—all while pocketing a zero-interest state loan intended to fund worker raises.
Moreover, CSU has billions of dollars in reserves, and rising enrollment has further strengthened the University’s financial standing.
As they claim not to have the funds to give workers their promised July raises, CSU continued to pad executive compensation. Chancellor Mildred García receives $1,062,000 in salary and benefits, and newly hired vice presidents average more than $300,000 annually. At its November meeting, the Board of Trustees advanced additional executive salary increases and eliminated a longstanding policy that put limits on excessive salary spikes for incoming presidents.
Meanwhile, CSU’s frontline workers continue to struggle with soaring housing costs, inflation, and the high cost of living in one of the most expensive states in the country.
