Fight for higher education funding is working!
July 4, 2025
About 60 Local 2010 members who work at California State University campuses throughout the state descended on the California State Capitol on April 29 to speak with legislators about how state budget cuts could undo the raises and salary steps hard-won through multiple strikes and other major collective actions in 2023.
Local 2010 members met with Assemblymember Christopher M. Ward (center) as part of their lobby day.
The legislative lobby day was held jointly with members of California Faculty Association and Academic Professionals of California—collectively representing nearly 25,000 CSU workers. Meetings were held with 98 legislators to urge full funding of California higher education and to require CSU to honor its current labor agreements, including salary step increases.
CSU Skilled Trades workers from each Union had direct discussions with the Assembly Members or their aides about how the loss of raises and salary steps would affect them and how the lack of salary steps affected them over the past years of the career—up to 28 years of salary stagnation for some workers!
So far, our collective actions are working! The California State budget’s May Revise released May 14 increased funding over what was proposed in January for both the California State University and University of California. This means that our lobbying and fighting together as Teamsters and along with other CSU and UC Unions for full funding for education is making a difference! “Thanks to the hundreds of Teamsters who joined lobby day, signed petitions and wrote letters!” said Jason Rabinowitz, Teamsters Local 2010 Secretary-Treasurer. “We made big progress in the May revision of the budget, but we must keep up the fight to ensure that California fully funds higher education to protect our jobs and our state’s future!”
