On the rainy Tuesday morning of Feb. 17, dozens of campus maintenance personnel and supporters planted themselves around California State University, Dominguez Hills. For the next few days, they join the state-wide strike for promises not kept by the California State University System.
Teamsters Local 2010 represents roughly 1,100 employees across the 22 CSU campuses. 95 percent of members agreed with the motion after CSU failed to pay raises and step increases negotiated in July 2025. The public university system states that this is a result of not receiving full-state funding in 2025-2026.
“CSU took this money, then turned around and withheld our promised raises, falsely stating it was, “one-time money,” when it’s not because it’s part of the CSU’s ongoing base budget,” said the union in a message from their bargaining team on Feb. 14.
At CSUDH, union members stationed themselves in-front of James L. Welch Hall, the new housing construction site, and the Central plant at around 5:30 a.m. Throughout the day, they held the picket line, distributed flyers, conversing with onlookers and blocking delivery drivers. One of them was Alexander Ruiz, the lead locksmith. Although struggling with a sore throat, Ruiz was outraged at the CSU’s claims of not having any money.
“Your tuition went up six percent, they say they don’t have money, we don’t know where the money is going,” Ruiz said. “If they were to open the books, we could see where the money goes, but they don’t want to.”
The Bulletin attempted to contact the Chancellor’s office in regards to the Teamsters’ claims. They directed the Bulletin to the CSU statement regarding the matter.
“The CSU values its employees and remains committed to fair, competitive pay and benefits for our skilled trades workforce through the bargaining process with the Teamsters. It is unfortunate that the Teamsters are advancing false claims to justify a strike, harming both their members and the broader university community.”
Benjamin Cuadras, a facilities worker, told the Bulletin that the current contract ends in July. He hopes the union will remain firm in their demands and avoid another strike.
“We have put our families through this suffering, and it’s not fair to offer false promises. It is important we talk about this with everyone,” Cuadras said in an interview with The Bulletin.
As of March 3, the Teamsters have declared their strike successful following CSU Chancellor, Mildred Garcia’s public commitment to giving the workers their long-overdue raises. The bargaining team will be returning to the negotiations table on March 23-24.