This week: ALL OUT WALKOUT!
Students Against Tuition Hikes + King Hall Kills + Emergency Town Hall this Friday
In the last week, we’ve received at least two emails revealing that there is both asbestos and mold in King Hall. Cal State LA Administrators can try to minimize this information, but it is on our and our students’ minds every time we step foot into the building. For those of us with offices in King Hall, it has become a daily source of worry.
Today, the concerned campus community took over the Concerns from the Floor agenda item at the Academic Senate meeting. The interim Vice President of Administration and Finance, Queen E. King, and interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Amy Bippus, recognized that King Hall has been a problem for several years and stated administration is aware of asbestos in the buildings, not only on the ceiling tiles, but also on the floor tiles in many buildings on campus. While faculty offered proactive ideas and solutions, such as remote teaching, relocating classrooms to temporary bungalows, and relocating staff and faculty offices to the new Administration Building, Bippus and King offered no immediate solutions for safe learning and working conditions, but emphasized the need to stick to the master plan for the CSU Board of Trustees.
To protest these hazardous working conditions, we are participating in two consecutive days of walkouts—on Wednesday, February 28th at 12:00 PM and on Thursday, February 29th at 12:00 PM (flyer below).
On Wednesday, we join the powerful Students Against Tuition Hikes (S.A.T.H.) as they protest the unconscionable 34% tuition hikes over the next 5 years. On Thursday, we hold a press conference and teach-in about environmental toxins and dangers in our learning and work environments. If you work, or have ever worked, in King Hall, we encourage you to fill out this survey, as we are attempting to gather data and possibly file a chapter-wide grievance on health & safety violations: https://forms.gle/XmjZRJh9vUKQQgz7A (share with staff & students).
Bonus: on Friday, CFA-LA is holding a Town Hall near the Golden Eagle Statue from 12-2 PM to talk about the rumors of budget cuts, course cuts for lecturers, and enrollment slumps. We’ll be recapping and re-discussing the hazards of teaching in King Hall as well. In the event of rain, we will relocate to an indoor location on campus.
It is a busy week for our union, as always, and we hope to see you out there fighting hard for our lecturer colleagues’ stability and for all of our health and wellbeing on campus.
In solidarity,
CFA-LA Executive Board