Photos/video by Andrew Goff, unless otherwise noted.

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• Cal State Faculty Strike Across All 23 Campuses in Historic Labor Walkout

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The mood is lively on the corner of 14th and LK Wood this morning, as hundreds of CSU faculty and supporters gather to picket for better working conditions. They’re marching and chanting  along the street to a soundtrack of rebellious rock ballads.

Nicola Walters, a Cal Poly Humboldt lecturer and a membership and organizing chair of the California Faculty Association, told the Outpost that some strikers have been here since 7:30 this morning and the crowd has been building since then.

The association has many demands, including wage increases and an increase in paid family leave time for new parents, who, Walters said, currently only get 30 days of paid leave to care for a new child.

The university has threatened to garnish pay for those participating in the strike, Walters said.

“It’s emotional” Walters said. “It’s scary for our faculty to be looking at the end of the month and wondering if they’re going to be able to make rent. It’s unimaginable that the CSU pays us so little that losing a week without pay would make people homeless.”

Holly Rae, a grad student, was marching in solidarity this morning at a second picket line near Library Circle. Rae said she’s joining the strike to support her professors, who she sees struggle due to unfair working conditions.

On the path to become an educator herself, Rae is also concerned for her own future and wants to feel confident that she’ll be going into a field where she won’t have to constantly struggle to make ends meet.

“I’m here because I too hope to someday earn a living wage and have fair working conditions,” Rae said.

More photos of the today’s strike below. A press release from the CSU system can be found at this link.