On Friday, members of the California Faculty Association (CFA) protested outside of the Performing Arts Center while the Baker Forum was going on inside.
Since reopening their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on May 1, the CSU and CFA have discussed five issues of interest to faculty: salary, workload, paid leave, health and safety, as previously reported by Mustang News.
Inside the Performing Arts Center, the forum lasted from 12 – 1 p.m. with alumni and special guests all in attendance. Hosted by President Armstrong, the Baker Forum included a moderated discussion and highlighted the 2023 Honored Alumni Award honorees, according to a Cal Poly events page.
Protesters handed out ribbons and stickers to students walking by. The group also used items such as noisemakers and whistles to grab attention.
“We are asking for a 12% raise,” CFA-SLO President Lisa Kawamura said. “It is time for 12 and it is still not enough, but we will take 12.”
Chants among the protesters included “admin pockets lined with gold,” “CSU is mighty cheap,” “union standing side by side,” and “time for twelve.”
“Cal Poly, I think we really feel the burn with housing and we really want that 12%,” Office Coordinator for CFA-SLO Kimberly Anderson said.
Anderson said these protests are happening across the Cal State campuses.
“This is a whole Cal State problem,” Anderson said. “All across the CSU faculty, especially some of our lecturers, are not getting paid enough. We need lactation spaces, we need gender-neutral restrooms in every building. And we need better working conditions.”
Anderson is a Cal Poly alumnus and said she is concerned about what it does to the community when students and teachers are not receiving fair treatment from the institution.
“That affects our entire community in San Luis Obispo,” she said. “When faculty can’t afford housing, when they can’t afford what they need, they can’t teach properly and that affects students.”