Skilled Trades at California State Universities Launch Strike — SDSU Picketed

by Calista Stocker and Myckenzie Smith / Daily Aztec / February 17, 2026

On the first day of CSU Unit 6’s Unfair Labor Practice strike, members were met with support, administrative attention and some police pushback.

From 5 a.m. to 12 p.m., more than 50 skilled trades workers — including facilities services, electricians and technicians — showed up at SDSU to fight for unpaid contractual raises and step increases that were promised to them in July 2025.

As a facet of the Local Teamsters 2010, CSU Unit 6 represents more than 1,100 skilled trades workers systemwide. From now until Friday, union members are withholding their labor across CSU’s 22 campuses.

For the striking members, the campus disruption is a necessary evil and a last resort to obtain their overdue raises.

“We did everything possible,” said Carlos Sanchez, chief steward of CSU Unit 6. “Went through all the means. We went through mediation, we went to arbitration, we went through fact-finding: Everything we possibly could do so that they could pay us. And so we have to proceed with the last one, which is strike.”

Following the first day, CSU Media Relations issued a statement, encouraging the Teamsters to return to the bargaining table.

“The CSU values its employees and remains committed to fair, competitive pay and benefits for our skilled trades workforce through the collective bargaining process with the Teamsters. It is unfortunate that the Teamsters is advancing false claims to justify a strike, harming both their members and the broader university community,” they wrote in a statement.

SDSU has taken notice of the strike, sending out a variety of preemptive emails, as well as a campuswide push notification warning the community of traffic delays.

The strikers started their day at the I-8 exit onto College Avenue near the SDSU entrance sign, where they were confronted by a University Police Department officer at 7:16 a.m. for “obstructing traffic.”

Strikers reported telling the officer they were only in the road during red lights and when the crosswalk’s walk signal was on and that it is “our constitutional right to be able to do this.”

It is unclear whether or not there were members illegally occupying the road.

The legality of the strike has been a sticking point for the Teamsters, especially since they were successful in filing the Unfair Labor Practice charge against the CSU in August.

According to CSU Unit 6, the University cited federal budget cuts as the reason for denying the raises and step increases, despite receiving a one-time zero-interest loan from the state to bridge those gaps. The CSU alleges that the contingency provisions language was not met to receive the raises.

Five months after denying the contractual raises, the CSU Board of Trustees overturned presidential salary caps and approved the salary increases of 13 campus presidents, including SDSU President Adela de la Torre. Additionally, union members argue, the tuition increase of 34% from 2024 to 2029 serves as another justification for increasing skilled trades workers’ pay.

“They’re raising your tuition. And then they try to turn it on the students, saying that because of our raises, because of our salaries, is the reason that they were [raising tuition],” Sanchez said. “They never gave us our raises, and they’re still charging them the 6% [annual] increases. If anything, they’re giving their presidents the increases themselves.”

Following bargaining efforts with the CSU, the Teamsters reported receiving an “insulting, lowball offer” of a one-time 3% lump sum payment.

“Every state entity in California this year has gotten a raise … [The CSU] are the only ones that don’t want to pay your workers an increase to keep up with, try to even stay afloat, with the cost of living,” Sanchez said, comparing CSU skilled trades salaries with those of the UCs.

“That’s the reason why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Sanchez continued. “It’s not because we’re being greedy … No, it’s because this is what they agreed upon, and even with this 3%, we’re still behind the average.”

Sanchez and co-steward Matthew Benner speculate that the CSU does not want to allocate the raises due to the practice of “pattern bargaining,” though Sanchez reports their contract does not have a “Me Too Clause.”

Pattern bargaining is a union salary increase strategy where, if one union bargaining unit receives a salary increase, other bargaining unit negotiations can be reopened.

“At the end of the day, we’re the smallest, but we’re the strongest [union]. But we have to pretty much do the dirty work for everybody else, because if they pay us, they’re going to pay everybody else,” Sanchez said.

The Teamsters do not expect the CSU to provide them with their requests for overdue raises plus penalties, but hope the California Faculty Association will hold a subsequent strike that could result in more bargaining leverage.

“This strike has got a lot more attention than the previous strike,” Benner said, referring to the November 2023 strike that resulted in their current, albeit denied, contract. “We’re going to be a force out there. [Everyone is] welcome to join us … It’s the reality of what we got to do in order to provide for our families.”

Combined, Sanchez and Benner have been working for SDSU Facilities Services for 52 years, calling SDSU their “second home.”

“We’re also doing it for [the students]. They’re being charged 6% every year for the next five years. That’s not fair. We’re understaffed … we’re here to service the students,” Sanchez said.

Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Naomi Chuang appreciates the efforts of facility services workers and supports the strike.

“I think that it’s good that they’re speaking up about being underpaid, especially because so much of facilities is why we can go to class,” Chuang said. “I’m a student leader and the residence halls and facilities is such a big deal to us … So I do believe that they deserve to get paid fairly. I do think that they are underappreciated.”