By Miggy Aguilar and Melisa Rodriguez
Photos by Ashley Tolteca
On Feb. 25 the California Faculty Association (CFA) and CSU Employees Union (CSUEU) gathered at CI in protest, voicing their concerns about the potential layoffs and the resulting cuts to instruction. The rally, led by Greg Wood, CFA Chapter President at CI, highlighted the growing tension between the faculty union and campus administration regarding how the university plans to address its financial struggles.*
Rally Focuses on Layoffs and Instructional Cuts
Wood, in his capacity as Chapter President, spoke about the purpose of the rally saying, “What we’re doing here today is rallying against the coming layoffs and the cuts to instruction that are going to happen as a result of those layoffs to you, students.” The rally’s central issue revolves around the anticipated layoffs and the subsequent impact these cuts will have on students’ ability to complete their courses and graduate on time.
Wood pointed out that the faculty had received several communications from the administration. “A place you could go to find out the administration’s point of view is the SRPC meetings,” Wood explained. These meetings, hosted by the Strategic Resource Planning Committee (SRPC), have provided insight into the administration’s perspective on the campus’s financial situation. The key proposal discussed at the SRPC meetings includes an “early exit program,” which would encourage faculty and staff to voluntarily step down to avoid layoffs. However, Wood emphasized a critical point: the CFA members do not feel that the financial data they’ve been provided is transparent or adequate. “We need to see the account balances and the financials of the campus. The budgeted, but the actuals,” Wood said, calling for more transparency in the university’s financial reporting.
Impact on Students and Course Sections
Another pressing concern raised by the faculty union was the impact of potential course section cuts. Faculty department chairs were recently informed that they would need to reduce 20% of course sections between the current and the upcoming academic year. “We have not been made privy to this information,” said Wood, referring to the lack of communication to faculty members at CI about the specific cuts.
The SRPC meetings have suggested that approximately 116 full-time employees would need to be cut as part of a strategy to close the budget deficit. However, as Wood pointed out, the financial data provided does not align with the actual spending patterns of the University. “The actual spend of this university is much lower than what you’re seeing in SRPC,” he explained, indicating a significant difference between projected and actual expenditures.
Concerns About Administrative Cuts
A key aspect of the rally was the call for fair treatment when it comes to which positions are being cut. Wood expressed his frustration with the administration’s approach, stating, “The first choice is to cut faculty and staff and then follow it up with, well, if we don’t have enough cuts, we’ll cut administration.” In contrast, he suggested a different approach: “As a 4000 student campus, we could do with the administration of a 4000 student campus.” Wood argued that the administration at CI could be streamlined to reflect the size of the student body, a model that existed when the campus first opened.
A Call for Transparency and Accountability
Throughout the rally, CFA members emphasized the need for transparency in the administration’s financial decision-making. Wood pointed out that the budgetary information shared with faculty, particularly in the SRPC meetings, was potentially misleading and incomplete. “The information you’re being provided with at SRPC is very misleading,” he remarked. The CFA is committed to continuing its efforts to ensure that students, faculty and staff have access to accurate financial data, with Wood noting, “We’re working on it” when asked about plans to disseminate this critical information.
A Unified Call for Change
As Wood concluded his remarks, he emphasized the continuation of their efforts, stating, “This is nothing. We’re just getting started.” The rally drew participation from faculty, staff, and students, highlighting ongoing concerns regarding the University’s financial challenges.
For more information on the SRPC budget meeting read our article here: https://civiewnews.com/news/when-the-budget-gets-tight-what-is-on-the-line-for-ci/
*Update 3/6/2025
Jessica Dalton, CSUEU Chapter President, mentioned “The rally on 2/25 was organized by the CSUEA and CFA with the support of Academic Professionals of California (APC), Students for Quality Education, Students for Housing Equity, MEChA, Liberation Education and the Sociology Club.” Additionally, Timothy W. Allen, CI Supervising Building Service Engineer, added that “Teamsters declined to set up a table at the event when contacted by the CSUEU and as an organization we made the decision not to attend the event. There might have been a Teamster member or two who attended on their own.” Due to this updated information, The CI View has not reached a conclusion on whether or not Teamsters were in support of this protest.
