The Fall Convocation arrived a bit late this year. Rather than being held before the start of the school year, the event was held Sept. 24 at the University Theatre. Inside the auditorium, interim CSUDH President Mary Ann Villarreal reaffirmed the university’s commitment to helping Toros “move into pathways toward greater success and socioeconomic mobility.”
Villarreal called on Toros to continue working together “with a commitment to continued collaboration.”
Meanwhile, just outside the auditorium, representatives of the California Faculty Association at Dominguez Hills (CFADH) were also calling for collaboration, but with a message that underscored the tension between the university and its faculty union. As Toro cheerleaders with burgundy and yellow pompoms welcomed attendees, CFADH members in red shirts stood nearby with a warning of their own: “I don’t want to strike but I will.”
Contract negotiations between the CFA and California State University continue without an agreement. The bargaining process began in November 2025 and now, almost a year later, the possibility of a faculty strike looms over the campus.
“We went through the mediation stage where we met with a mediator that tried to see if both sides could come together on parts of the contract,” said Steve McFarland, a representative of the CFA bargaining team. “We made a little bit of progress, but we decided we wanted to go ahead into the fact-finding stage.”
McFarland, chair of the Labor Studies Department, told The Bulletin that CFA and CSU representatives will meet five more times over the next two months. He said both sides will have 10 days to review the recommendation and potentially reach an agreement. If they fail to reach an agreement, the report will be made public, and CSU management may issue its last, best and final offer.
“In other words, take it or leave it. They could impose what they feel is how the contract is going to go for the next three years,” McFarland said. “At that point of the process, the union is no longer bound by the last contract. So, they’re free to take job action.”
The Cal State Employees Union, which represents staff, is also engaged in contract negotiations. CSUEU members in blue shirts could be seen demonstrating alongside their CFADH counterparts outside the University Theatre.
McFarland added that CFA members would rather teach than strike, but withhold their labor to pressure the university into offering a fair contract after more than a year of negotiations.
“We’ve seen our standard of living decline,” McFarland said. “Things have gotten more expensive in Southern California—particularly housing, gas and grocery. Inflation has risen faster than wages increasing.”
According to McFarland, some of his colleagues have left CSUDH for better offers at other universities. He said their departures have increased workloads for remaining faculty, who must grade more assignments and teach larger classes without additional pay.
McFarland said he has heard colleagues say, “I just can’t take it anymore.”
“We’re seeing a shift away from that commitment to affordable, high quality higher education in college degrees,” he said. “We’re seeing the money that gets put in the system instead of going to faculty and students that are at the core of what our university does.”
The CFA represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, counselors, coaches and librarians across the CSU system. The union is bargaining for cost-of-living salary adjustments, class-size and workload limits, job security for part-time faculty, protections related to artificial intelligence, academic freedom, extended paid parental leave and increased access to counselors.
Two years ago, in January 2024, the union called for a strike just before the start of the spring semester. The strike lasted one day.
In an Aug. 18 email to members, the CFA encouraged faculty to add a disclaimer to their syllabi noting a “possible work stoppage.”
“In response to the CSU management’s stance, it is possible that the faculty union will call a strike or other work stoppage this term,” the email suggested.
Amy Bentley-Smith, director of media relations for the Chancellor’s Office, told The Bulletin the university remains committed to a “fair and fiscally responsible” agreement. Although the CSU and CFA have differences, she said a strike is not inevitable and acknowledged students’ need for timely, clear information about potential disruptions to their education.
“The CSU and its universities maintain contingency plans for all types of potential disruption to campus operations with the goal of preventing or reducing impact to our students’ academic progress,” Bentley-Smith said. “It would be premature to speculate on specific impacts of a potential labor action at this point, but should circumstances develop that could affect students, the CSU and its universities will communicate directly with students about what to expect and any steps they should take.”
Alfredo Carlos, a labor studies professor at CSUDH, told The Bulletin that a strike is a last resort. Faculty do not want to disrupt their students’ education or jeopardize their own livelihoods, as they would not be paid while on strike.
“We’ll find some kind of resolution. This isn’t just a struggle for this particular contract,” Carlos said. “This has been something that’s been going on for a long time, where faculty are paid less and less and less.”
Carlos said faculty can be successful in securing what they need, not just for themselves but for students as well, if students are informed about the CFA-CSU contract negotiations and support the union.
“One of the things I hope is that anytime workers are struggling for better conditions, students learn to respect workers trying to make better of their situation and they also take note that to be leaders in their careers,” he said.