By Barley Lewis-McCabe

“Everywhere we go (everywhere we go)

People wanna know (people wanna know)

Who we are (who we are)

So we tell em

We are the union (we are the union)

The mighty mighty union”

No matter where you were, you could hear the organizer’s calls. Union members  held signs and chanted as they marched along the Cal Poly Humboldt campus boundary, backed by a chorus of car horns from passersby sympathetic to their cause. 

On May 1, International Workers Day, members from the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) held a series of demonstrations at California State University (CSU) campuses across the state in order to protest proposed budget cuts to the CSU system, and to hold the Chancellor’s Office accountable for past agreements made to workers.

The promises in question included adequate funding to the CSU system and reinstating the Salary Steps Program, which would involve employees receiving pay raises based on how much time they spend working in the system. 

An anonymous union member at the march explained why they were protesting.

“At the moment, a person who’s been in the system for 27 years is getting paid the same amount as a person who just started,” they said. “And [the union] doesn’t think that’s fair.”

The CSUEU contract states that the program will be reinstated in October, unless the CSU general budget fund falls below $227 million. In the 2025-26 fiscal plan governor Gavin Newsom outlined a 7.95% cut to the CSU system. Moving forward, universities will receive a $252.3 budget.

Does this mean the program is in the clear? Not quite. 

The budget proposal still has many uncertainties; it’s only in its first draft, so as it goes through legislators and lobbyists the amount of money allocated could change. Also, federal funding cuts could impact the budget heavily, especially considering the ongoing DEI investigation at Cal Poly Humboldt. 

Phil Bradley, member of the Teamsters Union, spoke on these budget cuts and solidarity for the unions. 

“We’re here showing solidarity for our fellow union members,” Bradley said, “We’re sending a message to the chancellor’s office and the governor that we need our contracts to be honored and creative accounting does not negate the agreements we’ve come to. We’d also like the csu to be fully funded and we’re opposing the 7.9% cuts that have been proposed.” 

The CSUEU covers over 16,000 CSU support staff, including administrative and academic support, custodial services and student assistants. They provide collective bargaining services in which union leaders meet with CSU administrators to agree on contracts that they feel adequately represent their members and provide the services they’re owed. 

“It’s crucial to have unions protecting workers,” said sophomore student employee Kiera Sladen. “Without that, you’d have pure unfettered capitalism and exploitation of the workers.” 

Barley isn’t just the grooviest guy around, he’s also an untraditional reporter, photographer, and-of course the photo editor!