{"id":29447,"date":"2023-10-28T12:50:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T19:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=29447"},"modified":"2023-10-28T12:50:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T19:50:07","slug":"sf-state-faculty-rally-for-contract-during-week-long-strike-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/10\/28\/sf-state-faculty-rally-for-contract-during-week-long-strike-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"SF State faculty rally for contract during week-long strike vote"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" by\u00a0JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong> OCTOBER 26, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A group of faculty and students marching on San Francisco State University campus on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Suzanne Pullen has $120,000 in student loan debt. At 53, she has not been a student for some time, but is, at last, using her hard-won doctoral degree. She\u2019s a lecturer in communication studies at San Francisco State University, where she watches her students amass debt, as she did before them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pullen was one of more than 150 faculty and students who rallied at San Francisco State University on Thursday, demanding a contract for faculty members, who are in the midst of a week-long, statewide vote<\/a> on whether to strike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a Ph.D, I\u2019m working as a lecture faculty, and I\u2019ve chosen to stay at this campus, but it\u2019s trading in a future of debt and no way out,\u201d said Pullen, who has been a faculty member at S.F. State since 2015. She said faculty at the school, like herself, cannot afford to think about home ownership or building up a nest egg, much less \u201cextravagant trips\u201d or \u201cfuture investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just thinking about how I pay rent, and how I pay my bills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very demoralizing,\u201d added Brad Erickson, a full-time lecturer at the School of Liberal Studies and the president of the university\u2019s faculty union chapter. Erickson said he was lucky to stave off student debt as a graduate but, with a daughter now in college, was forced to borrow to support her. \u201cNow I\u2019m going into debt, when everyone is telling me to build up for retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE ON SAN FRANCISCO STATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"San<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco State University facing mass staffing cuts<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>by JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong>SEPTEMBER 29, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscribe to our daily newsletter<\/strong> and have the latest stories from Mission Local delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 workers at California state schools, including some 1,060 at San Francisco State University, has asked its members to authorize a strike. This comes after what the union characterizes as failed negotiations with the administration of the state school system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote, which kicked off on Saturday and will last through Friday, would not guarantee a strike, but a \u201cyes\u201d vote would authorize the union to call a strike if negotiations break down. The union is asking for 12 percent across-the-board raises, among other changes, saying the raise would barely keep up with inflation. Management has countered with 5 percent raises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty at the union are facing mass staffing cuts: In September, emails<\/a> went out across the university informing S.F. State lecturers \u2014 who make up the bulk of the teaching staff and are usually part-timers \u2014 that many would see their classes cut in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cuts would affect the equivalent of 125 full-time S.F. State positions, according to a budget presentation<\/a> from the university. The faculty union said that, because most lecturers are part-time, some 300 would lose all of their classes, and another 600 would see some class cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be able to pay rent, childcare,\u201d said Jaimy Magdalena Mann, a lecturer in Race and Resistance Studies, who said she is not sure how many classes she will lose come the spring, but was hoping to have at least two sections \u2014 the minimum required to keep her healthcare. \u201cI don\u2019t have family who I could borrow money from, I have not started paying back my student loans \u2026 I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco State University did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson last month said the cuts were a response to a changing student body: Enrollment at the school is down to its lowest total in a decade, and fewer San Franciscans are having children and sending them to state schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo the extent that lecturer hiring will be impacted going forward, that will be driven by student enrollment and aligning the schedule of classes to meet demand,\u201d Kent Bravo, a university spokesperson, said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, those amassed in the campus quad said they struggled to survive in the Bay Area on a lecturer\u2019s salary, and students standing alongside their teachers said they, too, could little afford the tuition hikes approved<\/a> by the system\u2019s board of trustees in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chants of \u201cFight the hike!\u201d and \u201cMoney for the schools, not the chancellor!\u201d were directed from the crowd to a handful of administrative staff looking on nearby. At one point, the crowd chanted \u201cFuck the admins!\u201d and a few middle fingers were thrust in the administrators\u2019 general direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those present said the mood on campus was tense and sober. Students said seeing their teachers struggle with rent and facing job cuts made some rethink the benefits of a higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really disheartening, it feels disenfranchising,\u201d said Violet Street, a 20-year-old junior in public health who led a march across campus on Thursday. Street comes from a family of teachers, many of whom have gone through the California State University system, like her. \u201cWe\u2019re CSU legacy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she worried about her two younger sisters coming up behind her and entering the state system. And she worried about her own prospects of going to graduate school, given her lecturers\u2019 struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf my professors who have two master\u2019s are getting fired \u2014 what the fuck is that?\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE EDUCATION NEWS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"SF<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SF teachers, district reach deal after all-night bargaining session \u2014 strike averted<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>by JOE ESKENAZI<\/a><\/strong>OCTOBER 20, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mission<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mission students walk out over Gaza attacks, Ronen calls for immediate cease-fire<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>by KELLY WALDRON<\/a><\/strong>OCTOBER 18, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SF<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SF school staff reach deal with district, averting strike<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>by\u00a0JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong>OCTOBER 17, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JOE RIVANO BARROSSENIOR EDITOR<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

joe.rivanobarros@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe was born in Sweden, where the Chilean half of his family received asylum after fleeing Pinochet, and spent his early childhood in Chile; he moved to Oakland when he was eight. He attended Stanford University for political science and worked at Mission Local as a reporter after graduating. He then spent time in advocacy as a partner for the strategic communications firm The Worker Agency. He rejoined Mission Local as an editor in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0JOE RIVANO BARROS OCTOBER 26, 2023 Suzanne Pullen has $120,000 in student loan debt. At 53, she has not been a student for some time, but is, at last, using her hard-won doctoral degree. She\u2019s a lecturer in communication studies at San Francisco State University, where she watches her students… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1298],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29448,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29447\/revisions\/29448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}