As far back as May the faculty at the California State University threatened to strike if management wouldn’t meet their wage and benefit demands.

That prophecy was on full display yesterday as the California Faculty Association began the first of four one-day strikes, starting at Cal Poly Pomona.

Tomorrow through Thursday the association is planning one-day strikes at Cal State campuses in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco. The four campuses with walkouts this week together enroll about 105,000 students. The union vows to escalate the work stoppages early next year if university leaders don’t meet their demands.

“If that doesn’t work, we’ll be back,” said union president Charles Toombs. He spoke during an afternoon rally Monday.

“Nobody gives you nothing in this world and you are showing that what is important to you in the CSU is that you have working conditions where you can afford to live, where you can have class sizes that are just not outrageous,” Toombs said.

The union represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, counselors and coaches. It is demanding 12% raises this academic year to make up for the recent massive spikes in inflation. The union also seeks to extend parental leave from six weeks to a full semester, hire more therapists and set new baseline wages for the lowest-paid professors and other concessions.

“We don’t need sleep-deprived teachers being put in the classroom mid-semester,” declared Nick Von Glahn, a psychology professor at Cal Poly Pomona and the campus union president.

At one point a team of folklórico dancers performed to a live rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s foreboding hit song, Bad Moon Rising.

The Cal State system, the nation’s largest four-year public university with more than 450,000 students, says it cannot afford the raises.

“Any larger salary increases would force very difficult and painful decisions on our campuses.”
— Leora Freedman, vice chancellor for human resources at the California state system

Instead, its leadership has proposed a 5% hike this academic year and 5% increases in 2024-25 and 2025-26 — contingent on Gov. Gavin Newsom fulfilling his promise of upping state support for the system by 5% for each of those two years, moves that require the Legislature’s approval. It’s a promise he’s kept the past two years despite a multi-billion-dollar deficit in June, but faculty labor leaders object to any future raises that aren’t guaranteed.

“Any larger salary increases would force very difficult and painful decisions on our campuses,” said Leora Freedman, vice chancellor for human resources at the Cal State system during a virtual press conference Friday.

The Cal Poly Pomona rally featured elected officials and candidates for state Assembly offices, some for the same Assembly seat.

“I’m a success right now because of Cal State L.A., because of the faculty, not because of administration,” said Sasha Renée Pérez, who attended Cal State L.A. and is now vice mayor of the city of Alhambra. She’s also running for a state Senate seat.

Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Corona, spoke in support of the faculty demands, telling them that “this is what collective action for justice looks like.” She’s chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

Professors at Cal State earn between $91,000 and $122,000 on average, full-time lecturers make ​​$71,000 on average and the 23 campus presidents have an average base salary of about $417,000, according to 2022 data compiled by CalMatters. Most lecturers are part-time and earned the equivalent $64,000 on average in 2022. The union also wants pay bumps for the lowest-paid instructors on top of the 12% wage increases. Many earned less because they don’t work the full academic year.

Faculty and other employees are incensed that some campus presidents earned raises of 29% last year. A CalMatters analysis last week showed that while lecturers saw average raises of 22% since 2007, presidents since then saw base pay raises of 43% on average. The system’s new chancellor earns just shy of $800,000 million in base pay and about $1 million when adding housing, auto and other perks.

A 12% increase for the faculty association’s members would cost Cal State $380 million in annual payroll commitments — an amount that exceeds the operating budgets of numerous individual Cal State campuses. That’s $150 million more than the system got from Newsom’s 5% increase in state support this summer.

Freedman on Friday also said that raises above 5% for the faculty “would trigger a reopening of salary negotiations with other labor unions.” She was referring to recent deals Cal State finalized with two other unions representing 20,000 workers in which they agreed to 5% raises this year. Those contracts included provisions permitting those unions to bargain again over salary increases if another union gets more than 5%.

A state labor mediator weighed in with a much-anticipated fact-finding report that was published Friday saying that Cal State should agree to a 7% raise for the faculty union. The report also proposed other technicalities that would increase faculty pay without triggering the salary re-openers with other unions. The Cal State leadership opposes that 7% solution, according to a memo its labor relations staff published. A faculty union senior leader also signaled to CalMatters last week that a 7% wage increase is too low for its members.

“If they come at us with seven (percent), I don’t think faculty would accept that,” said Kevin Wehr, bargaining team chair for the California Faculty Association and a professor at Sacramento State.

Both sides suggested there’s room for negotiation over the technical wage increases the fact-finding report recommended.

The union is also hesitant to accept a multi-year deal because it would override contract negotiations slated to begin next summer. Right now, the two sides are able to negotiate on just a few matters in the collective bargaining agreement, including salary and several benefits provisions. Accepting a multi-year deal now locks into place other contact details that the union wants to hammer out next year.

“The three-year nature of management’s proposal would mean that we cannot bargain over other workplace issues for three years!” union leaders wrote to members last week.

The mediator’s fact-finding report identified 15 issues overall that the union and Cal State are at an impasse over in the current negotiations. Cal State is prepared to accept 13 of the report’s recommendations, excluding salary and a separate issue about faculty workload.

The picket line during faculty strikes at Cal State Pomona on Dec. 4 2023. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

“I can barely make basic living expenses on our current salary,” said Rachael Hill, a history professor at Cal Poly Pomona. She earns around $80,000 and has a son in college. “We’re asking to break even given the rate of inflation, right? And management has offered a 5% (raise), which is essentially a pay cut.” She’s one paycheck from being houseless, she said, and not only is she unable to pay down her student debt, but she’s accumulating other debt given her wages, she said.

She also wants to see more mental health counselors at her campus. “I’ve had students who were really in crisis, who couldn’t get an appointment, and I had to call the (campus) emergency response team to go in and to do a wellness check on them,” she said. “Knowing that their needs are being taken care of in a timely manner is going to alleviate a lot of stress and worry on my part,” she added.

Chelsi Dimm, a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona and Fullerton, teaches 11 classes combined for the year, which yields an annual income of around $72,000, she said. She lives in Los Angeles and sometimes drives to both campuses on the same day, a commute of more than two hours.

“A lot of us lecturers are having to put together several jobs in order to make a living,” she said, “and that’s really just not conducive to student learning conditions.”

Complicating the revenue picture further is that the Cal State’s trustees in September approved tuition hikes of 34% across five years that will take effect next fall — actions the faculty union and student groups vehemently opposed. About 60% of students won’t be affected because they receive enough state and institutional financial aid to offset tuition charges. Prompting the trustees’ decision was the revelation in May that Cal State spends $1.5 billion less than it should to properly educate its students and needs more money.

But even with the revenue generated from the tuition hikes and the 5% increases in state support from lawmakers, Cal State officials said they won’t have enough to afford 15% salary increases over three years for all its employees. An official in September said that under that scenario, the system would be $322 million short over three years. Program cuts, layoffs, not filling positions and other approaches are all possibilities to close that gap. Individual campuses would have to decide “how they would address impacts to their budget and reallocate their already limited financial resources,” said Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith.

“We’re asking to break even given the rate of inflation, right? And management has offered a 5% (raise), which is essentially a pay cut.”
— Rachael Hill, history professor at Cal Poly Pomona

The faculty union argues that Cal State has more available money than it lets on, noting that the system in recent years has shifted end-of-year surpluses into cash and investment reserves. Cal State says it needs at least three months of operating cash on hand to hedge against financial shocks, like natural disasters or recessions. The cash reserves it has now equal just 33 days of its annual budget.

The fact-finder report noted that the two sides fundamentally disagree on the system’s financials and ability to shift more money from reserves and construction projects to ongoing expenses like salaries. CalMatters asked Freedman if the system is choosing to route more money to reserves than to faculty pay.

“It’s a balance,” she said Friday. “We need to be responsible and protect the university and our students and our operations. And at the same time, we also need to pay our employees fairly and competitively and we are in a very tough situation.”

Meanwhile, Cal State points to a faculty pay study a consulting firm produced this year that showed Cal State faculty are paid comparable salaries compared to similar out-of-state universities. The faculty union and various system trustees criticized that study for not considering California’s higher cost of living and for not including California universities in the comparison group.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

In loving memory of, Gail Ruth Samuels, 76, of Panther Gap, who passed away peacefully on October 18, 2023, with family by her side.

Gail was born on April 2, 1947, in Portland, Oregon, to Robert Dale Johnson and Patricia Ruth Johnson, as the second child in a family of six. She was creative and outgoing from a young age, and after being the president of the art club in high school, she graduated with an art scholarship and chose to take classes at the prestigious Portland Art Museum. Gail always looked back at this time fondly, as it was a catalyst for her ever-expanding artistic drive.

She met her first husband, Ronald Bauer, in Portland during the late 1960s. They both shared a love of travel and an adventurous spirit. They went on to travel the United States, drawing inspiration from the beauty of the landscape and the people they met. It was during this time that they had their first two children, and returned to Portland to have their third child in the early 1980s. Shortly after, they traveled back down the coast to Humboldt County. It was here that Ronald unexpectedly passed away in his mid-thirties.

With its welcoming community and beautiful rural terrain, Honeydew was a natural choice for her to live with her three children. Gail inherited a love of gardening from her mother, and began exploring her natural skills there in the Mattole Valley.

Gail met her second husband, Tom, in Honeydew, after having her fourth child. She shared her life with him; they had two more children together and homesteaded their incredible property in Panther Gap, together for (thirty five years) while raising their six children. Gail also had a love of reading, which led her into a job working as a librarian at Triple Junction High School in Honeydew. Gail’s inspiring presence and love of art was visible in so much of her life, as she always shared her creations with the community. Her flower arrangements could always be found at events such as the Roll on the Mattole, birthdays, and weddings. Gail’s garden always flourished as much as her inspiration, and she was also known for her incredible gourd carvings on home-grown gourds, hand-drawn stickers, and beaded jewelry. Gail put the same care into her family, and her love continues to shine through everyone who knew her.

Gail is survived by her husband, Tom Samuels, and their six children, Lila Rose Segesman, Lima Bauer-Moseman, Lin Sun Bauer, Leland Richard Golden, Lars Thomas Samuels, and Leona Ruth Samuels. She is also survived by her three grandchildren, Morrain Ruby Bauer-Safonova, Lilian Ruth Segesman, and Everly Maeve Samuels. She is also survived by her five siblings, Susan Elizabeth Rodgers, Gary Louis Johnson, Robert George Johnson, Philip Raymond Johnson, and Rodger Logan Johnson.

Memorial services to be announced at a later date.

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Charles Anthony Didier (Chuck) was born on December 8, 1956, in Sidney, Nebraska. He died on November 25, 2023, in Eureka.

Chuck grew up in Portland, Oregon, and attended school there. In the 1980s, he moved with his family, their amazing dog, Bruno, and his Harley, to Humboldt County. There, Chuck and his wife, Laura, owned and operated Arcata Moving & Storage. Then, in the 1990s, Chuck and his wife, Ronda, opened an antique store in the historic “Eagle House.” Ronda named it “Sanford’s Antiques and Collectibles” after her pet name for Chuck — “Sanford.” Later, they relocated it to the world-famous “Stump House” on Broadway. Chuck and his friends had restored this landmark and it remained “Sanfords” until it was dismantled and stored for museum display.

Chuck was a lover of cool cars ànd had many. He was well-known for his hot rods. He loved rock and roll music, collecting marbles, his parrots and riding his Harley.

Chuck was preceded in death by his father, George; his mother, Elena; his sister, Mary; his second wife, Ronda; and, his great-nephew, Cody. He leaves behind his brother, Robert and wife, Rosie; his sister, Tricia and husband Mark; his brother, Mike; his stepchildren, Anthony and wife Jennifer, and Sara and wife Emily; his first wife, Laura; his third partner, Linda; his nephews and nieces; his close friend, Mike; and his many friends.

Chuck was a strong man, a man of high values and standards with a wicked sense of humor. He loved people and helped so many. He lived a lot of life. Intelligent, talented, and entertaining, he never slowed down and he ruled his world. Chuck is well-loved and will be greatly missed. We will meet him at the crossroads.

Susan Kramer Lerner, 71, of Burnt Ranch and teacher in Humboldt County, suffered a stroke and left this world suddenly on November 17, 2023. Whether on a gold mining claim or in the classroom, Sue was known to be a fighter, fun-loving, generous and a fierce friend.

Sue was born on June 7, 1952, in Beaver, Pennsylvania. In high school she was a gymnast, a majorette and a cheerleader. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Special Education at the California University of Pennsylvania.

In the mid-1970s, she headed west, landing in Blue Lake before moving to Trinity County, on the edge of Humboldt County where she lived in Denny, and also 11 miles up the trail in Eagle Creek. Sue met her husband, Tim Lerner, at Simon LeGree’s in Hawkins Bar. He won the pool tournament and Sue’s heart. She then moved to Burnt Ranch with Tim and his young daughter Autumn Lerner in 1983. They built a rich family life together and Sue and Tim were together for 30 years until his death in 2013.

Sue was known by many names — Susie, Twosie, Two-Gun Sue, and Pistol-Packing Sue. But to generations of local students, she was simply “Ms. Lerner.” She taught school in Denny and was the last teacher at the Denny schoolhouse, taking four-year-old Autumn with her. She later taught Special Ed. at Hoopa Elementary, investing herself in her students and their families. In the early 1990s, Sue began to explore the “World Wide Web”, pioneering by bringing the internet into her Burnt Ranch home in the early days. Passionate about local Native culture, she applied her technology skills to document the Chimariko language with the last living speakers. She then taught at Hoopa High School, where she became a beloved early computer science teacher, earning an online master’s degree in educational technology from George Washington University. Meanwhile, she was active at Burnt Ranch School — as a parent and then a member of the Burnt Ranch School Board. Never one to remain idle, after retiring from teaching, Sue’s final career was in real estate, which she began in 2005 with Humboldt Land Co in Willow Creek. But she never did fully leave the classroom. She was seen substitute teaching recently in Hoopa and Burnt Ranch.

Sue was predeceased by her parents, John and Dorothy Kramer, and by her husband Tim Lerner. She leaves behind her partner Paul Reynolds, her sisters Kathleen Tray and Jennifer Kramer, her stepdaughter Autumn Lerner and her husband David Llama, her nieces Stephanie Tray (and husband Luke Henry), and Heather (and husband Christopher) Opalinsky, and great nieces and nephew Samantha, Charlotte and Shiloh.

Sue was loved by many and was a part of her community in numerous ways. If you were blessed to know Sue, you know she was tenacious and could tackle most anything. She was proud to call Humboldt-Trinity home for nearly 50 years — she loved the land and our community.

Sue lived a full and vibrant life and will be remembered as a loving partner, mother, sister, aunt, teacher, and friend. A celebration of Susan K. Lerner’s life will take place on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Burnt Ranch Elementary School with a community potluck.

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Lorraine Margrette Keisner
July 20, 1945 — Nov. 21, 2023

Lorraine Margrette Keisner, age 78, passed away on November 21, 2023, in Fortuna. Born on July 20, 1945, in Oakland to Josephine Velasquez and Antonio Velasquez, she was the youngest of 16 children. Lorraine was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, known for her exceptional cooking skills and her dedication to helping others.

Lorraine’s culinary journey began as a cook for Taholah School in Washington in 1974, where she lovingly prepared meals for the students. Her passion for cooking led her to Glen Paul Center in Eureka, Loleta School in Loleta, and finally, Bear River Community Center, where she cooked until 2012, then worked for the elders driving them to their appointments. She kept track of when and who they needed to see. She loved helping. She retired in 2018.

Lorraine’s cooking brought joy and nourishment to countless individuals throughout her career, some of her most famous culinary works being doll cakes, boob cakes, Halloween spider cakes, as well as many other brilliantly beautiful cakes and humorous joke cakes. She was also recognized and was interviewed when she cooked for Loleta School for making healthy homemade foods. Their lunch count went up, and even parents started lunching there. She was an incredible cook.

Beyond the kitchen, Lorraine was a woman of many talents and interests. She had a passion for animals, so much so that when her children were teens, they had to alert her before going into the kitchen in the morning on account of the family of skunks she fed in there. She actively participated in charity events to raise funds for various causes. Such walking for the March of Dimes, charity events for the disabled, and Relay for Life, an annual event dedicated to supporting cancer victims. In her 70s, she even took up boxing, fearlessly embracing new challenges. Lorraine’s adventurous spirit and dedication to helping others made her a strong female figure to her family, always instilling the values of hard work, kindness and above all humor (although her oldest son Robert believes he has the best humor, he is still wrong, LOL). Her favorite farewell was “stay sober and pee on you later.”

Lorraine will be deeply missed by her husband, Glenn Keisner, and her children, Robert Hipol, Theresa Staley, Manuel Hipol, and Glenn Keisner Jr. She also leaves behind a legacy of love in her grandchildren, Tia, Warren, Andrew, Tyler, Jessica, Ari, Ashley, Kendall, Glenn Jr, Chloe, and great-grandchildren Kaylie, Megan and Emmett as well as her brother Tony.    Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents, Josephine Velasquez and Antonio Velasquez, and her siblings, Josephine, Evelyn, Mary, Hilda, Claire, Jimmy, Albert, Walter, David, and Bobby and her great-granddaughter Penelope.

A celebration of Lorraine’s life will be held on December 9, 2023, at the Tish Non Village Community Center, Bear River, 266 Keisner Road, at 12 noon. This gathering will honor Lorraine’s long and beautiful memory, celebrating her as a mother, grandmother, friend, and a wonderful person in all aspects of life. The event will be potluck style, so attendees are encouraged to bring food if possible. Above all else, bring your love and cherished memories to share with others. Lorraine’s family hopes to see you there.

Lorraine Margrette Keisner will forever be remembered for her culinary talents, her love for animals, and her dedication to helping others. Her kindness, strength, and unwavering support will continue to inspire those who were fortunate enough to know her. May she rest in eternal peace.

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Press release from the City of Eureka:

Item H.1, the Cease Fire Resolution scheduled for tomorrow’s Council meeting, has been pulled from the agenda and will not be discussed or acted upon at the December 5th Council meeting.

Mayor Kim Bergel stated, “As the Mayor of Eureka, I share the concern and grief over the military operations in Gaza. I also represent all residents of the City of Eureka and I am committed to working with everyone impacted by conflict in the Middle East. The Cease Fire Resolution proposed for adoption at tomorrow’s meeting would not have ended the violence in Gaza and Israel, but it would perpetuate more divisiveness and hatred in our community. I continue to hold all peoples affected by the violence both here and abroad in my thoughts and prayers. May we practice peace and respectful dialogue in all of our interactions each and every day.”

Press release from Humboldt Last Week:

Humboldt Last Week, a podcast quickly showcasing our area’s most interesting news stories, has donated $500 to the local nonprofit Food For People.

“Food for People is exceptionally grateful to Humboldt Last Week for their support,” said Food For People Executive Director Carly Robbins. “More and more people are experiencing hunger and food insecurity locally as the costs of food and other life essentials are on the rise. It’s with the help of community members like Myles and Humboldt Last Week that we’re able to meet this increasing need by providing vital hunger relief programs across the county.”

“Food For People lives within the heart of our community,” said Humboldt Last Week host Myles Cochrane. “Their compassion is truly essential. Despite facing challenges in merch sales intended to bolster this donation, I was committed to supporting their invaluable efforts.”

You can read more about Food For People and donate via their website.

Humboldt Last Week is available where you get podcasts. The Humboldt Last Week website also hosts a TLDR news feed and an alternative rock radio station. The programming, with the intent of informing a kind community, is made possible with the support of local partnerships.