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PREVIOUSLY: Eureka Council Votes to Proceed With Plan to Reduce Car Lanes on H and I Streets

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The transformation has begun.

Work crews have started construction on a $5.4 million road improvement project that will remake four of Eureka’s busiest thoroughfares through a variety of renovations designed to improve safety and mobility for all modes of transportation, including pedestrians and bicyclists.

The most noticeable changes will be made to H and I streets. These parallel north-south routes will be reduced from three lanes of car traffic to two in order to accommodate the city’s first buffered bike lanes — “buffered” meaning they’ll be separated from motor vehicle traffic by a four-foot dividing lane, like so:

The city collaborated with the Redwood Community Action Agency to develop the “Eureka North-South Multimodal Corridor Plan,” with public outreach performed via presentations to the Transportation Safety Commission and City Council. A final design for H and I was approved by the council in 2018.

Other improvements to H and I will include the construction of sidewalk bulb-outs at intersections (designed to improve pedestrian visibility while reducing crossing distances) and new thermoplastic crosswalk striping, plus rapid-flashing “pedestrian crossing” beacons and dynamic speed feedback signs at select locations.

The other two roadways slated for renovations are 6th and 7th streets, which run east-west across the city. More bulb-outs will be among the measures designed to increase pedestrian safety, according to staff reports. In all, the city plans to add 170 new bulb-outs. (See photo at the top of this post for an example.)

These road construction projects are funded almost entirely by a pair of Highway Safety Improvement Grants from Caltrans, with the city providing about seven percent of the project costs, which will be met, in part, through staff time.

“Additional paving work not covered by the grant will be completed on H and I Streets and funded through Measure H and Gas Tax road repair funds,” city staff says in a recent staff report.

Eureka-based Mercer-Fraser Company won the competitive bid to complete the work, which has been budgeted at $5,429,500.00, including a contingency of about five percent.

Reached by phone this morning, Eureka Public Works Director Brian Gerving said the roadwork will continue through the winter, and for now the city is prioritizing the bulb-outs on I Street because it’s slated to be repaved soon.

“The goal is to get those done and complete the paving before the weather turns,” Gerving said. Even if the rain starts before too long, work will continue during windows of dry weather, he added.

Here’s one more design image showing details of some of the planned improvements. Click on the image to enlarge.

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During Tuesday’s meeting, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted, with Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell recused, to reinstate the Measure S cannabis cultivation tax at 10 percent for the 2024 cultivation year, with taxes due in the 2025 tax year. Cannabis farmers with outstanding balances will be expected to establish a payment plan with the county by June 30, 2024, to prevent the suspension of their permits.

Bushnell, citing guidance from the Fair Political Practices Commission, said she was obligated to recuse herself from the discussion because of her own cannabis operation. “I have excise tax that is in my name,” she said. “As such, financially, I have a direct interest, so this is the one thing cannabis – and the only thing – that I do have to recuse from.”

The decision to partially reinstate the cultivation tax comes nearly one year after the Board of Supervisors voted to temporarily suspend Measure S taxes for two years to provide relief to hundreds of struggling cannabis farmers. 

“This gave a bit of a reprieve for folks to get caught up if they had any outstanding balances … when they were not being assessed any additional excise taxes,” County Administrative Office (CAO) Elishia Hayes said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Furthermore, through collaboration with your Treasurer-Tax Collector … the county is now accepting partial payments and payment plans on outstanding balances.”

Since November 2022, the Treasurer-Tax Collector has collected $514,662, according to the staff report, with six accounts making partial payments to the tune of $27,216. “There are 962 accounts with outstanding balances totaling $14.19 million,” the report continues. “To date, neither the Treasurer-Tax Collector nor [the] Planning and Building Department have taken an adverse (other than assessing penalties) or revocation actions on approved permits for failure to pay Measure S taxes.”

Hayes asked how staff should enforce outstanding tax balances once the tax is reinstated and whether cultivators who owe back taxes should continue to hold a permit.

Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, Craig Johnson, co-owner and operator of Alpenglow Farms, asked that the board continue the tax suspension for another two years. 

“We’re one of the farms that have paid our taxes in full, and we’re currently current,” he said. “With the [Humboldt County Reform Initiative] HCRI, or Measure A, looming over us for the past year and a half or so, it has really put a freeze on how we pursue and look into our future because it’s uncertain at this time. So, until we can get past that, we really need to put a freeze on this thing until we can figure out how to move forward. … One year is great but we still need to react to the HCRI and, after that, start figuring out our future. So, I’m gonna ask for two years at this moment.”

Measure A, set to appear on the March 2024 ballot, came up several times during Tuesday’s board meeting. If passed, the controversial ballot measure would place new restrictions on commercial cannabis cultivation across the county. Proponents of the initiative believe the added restrictions will promote small-scale farming and environmentally responsible cannabis cultivation practices across the county. However, many local cannabis farmers fear the ballot initiative would decimate their livelihoods and destroy what is left of Humboldt County’s storied cannabis industry. 

Ross Gordon, policy director for the Humboldt County Growers Alliance, echoed Johnson’s concerns about Measure A and spoke in favor of an additional one-year suspension of the tax measure. 

Gordon | Screenshot

“Because Measure A is going to be on the ballot in March, we really don’t know the viability of the cannabis industry headed into 2024 and we feel like it provides a really strong reason to sort of kick this conversation into next year and then reconsider,” he said. “On the question of enforcement … we’d ask that you really give cultivators an opportunity to get on a payment plan and that enforcement is reserved for cultivators who are past due who either are not getting on a payment plan or are not following through on a payment plan in good faith.”

Gordon also provided some stats from a recent survey of market conditions. At this time last year, “65 percent of cannabis farmers were selling below cost of production, meaning essentially they were paying money to grow cannabis.” Twenty percent of cultivators were breaking even, and 15 percent were “returning a small profit,” he said.

“If we look at how market conditions have changed over the past year, we do hear anecdotally from some farmers that the market has picked up a little bit, but if you look at the data … the weighted wholesale average for cannabis actually dropped from $815 a pound to $765 a pound in California [between August 2022 and July 2023]. … And, for reference, this is compared to $1,489 a pound in July 2021. We’re still seeing the market cut about in half from where it was at its peak.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn also spoke in favor of extending the tax suspension for another year, noting that “there has been a small bit of stability in the industry this year.” He also asked staff to keep permits active wherever possible. 

“The people that have stepped up and legally entered the market, we kind of made a contractual agreement with them that we would work with them,” he said. “Not necessarily [for] late payments, but things happen and I would much rather keep those permits active because they’ve got a permit, they’ve actually gone through the lengthy process to become legal. If they have a payment plan in place, suspend for one year and put a payment plan together … I think that would probably be the best option for right now.”

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson suggested the board partially reinstate the tax at a rate of 10 percent. 

“I think that would bring in enough revenue that, actually within a couple of years, we would be able to recoup from some of the losses associated with this, and it would keep people in the process,” Wilson said. “[G]etting people back into [the] system is pretty difficult as we’re seeing today.”

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo agreed, adding that a small tax increase could serve “as a nice middle ground” for cultivators and the county.

“I agree that a small percentage – whether that’s 10 or 15 percent – could be something that could help while recognizing that people’s profits have been cut by a significant amount due to the downturn in the industry,” she said, adding that the industry was in a very different place when Measure S was passed in 2016. “I don’t think we can fully defer over and over and over again while still respecting the will of the voters.”

Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Steve Madrone also spoke in favor of reinstating 10-15 percent of the tax, adding that the board has a responsibility to balance the county’s budget.

“Our budget this year was $17 million in the hole,” he said. “We took that out of our reserves [which] were only about $27 million. So, we have maybe about $10 million or so left in our reserves. We can’t do that again. … We too have to consider how we’re going to balance our budget.”

Madrone noted that he was never supportive of Measure S because, he felt, the tax should have been imposed on dispensaries rather than cultivators.

“I just think the tax should have never been applied in that way,” he said. “Because the consumer is going to pay that [tax] no matter what. Whether it’s on the farmer or the distributor or the dispensary, the consumers pay for it. And I thought it was quite interesting that when the price of cannabis dropped, in many cases down to $400 or even $200 a pound … the eighths at the dispensary certainly didn’t go down to $5 or $10 an eighth. So who’s making money here? Not the farmers.”

Speaking to the issue of payment plans, Planning and Building Director John Ford said his department “basically stopped” new payment plans because it became “overwhelming” for staff.

Ford | Screenshot

“One of [our finance] person’s primary role roles is to make sure invoices are going out and payments are being received,” Ford said. “He was essentially at the counter all day every day working with people to make payments and it just was not getting us where we needed to be until we stopped taking new payment plans.”

CAO Hayes reiterated that cultivators can establish a payment plan with the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.

Bohn made a motion to reenact 10 percent of the cultivation tax and asked staff to come back to the board with a payment plan option that would be more effective. Arroyo seconded the action. 

Bohn also asked if staff could impose a deadline for cultivators to establish a payment plan with the county. “[For example], if [they] don’t make a payment within 12 months, we will suspend your license – not cancel – but we will suspend your license till all fees are paid and cultivation will not be able to take place on said parcel.”

Ford reminded the board that staff “does not have the ability to suspend permits.”

“I know this is a bureaucratic thing, but the ordinance does not give us the ability to simply suspend a permit,” he said. “It’s either it’s approved or its revoked.”

Bohn asked if the board could stipulate that permits would be suspended, not revoked, and modify the ordinance as a part of the motion. Ford said yes. Arroyo agreed to the amended action.

The board approved the motion in a 4-0 vote, with Bushnell recused.

Moratorium on Cannabis Permits

The Board of Supervisors also explored the possibility of imposing a moratorium on new cannabis applications. The item, initiated by Supervisor Bushnell, asked the board to consider how interim permits ought to be handled moving forward and whether a moratorium on new cannabis cultivation applications should be implemented.

Bushnell | Screenshot

“The items are really for discussion and information,” Bushnell said. “[T]he state is … going to be closing out some of interim [permits] and I wanted Director Ford to give us an update on that. And, given the narrative [surrounding] the … ballot measure that’s coming in March, the moratorium conversation is more around, what does our board think that looks like? Do we think it is appropriate? Are there new permits coming through?”

Since September of last year, the county has received nine new permit applications, Ford explained in a presentation to the board. Of the 1,281 cannabis cultivation permits that have been issued since legalization, 1,020 remain active. A little over 100 of those permits were canceled or withdrawn, and 155 are considered non-cultivation. There are also 1,312 state licenses in the county which “do not directly correspond to county permits.”

“State licenses would also include interim permits,” he said. “Some people who have an acre could have two medium-sized licenses, so they have multiple licenses for one permit. … We currently have 388 permitted sites that have no state license. That could be because they are not cultivating this year. So, we’re not saying those are out of compliance, they just currently do not have a license.”

There are currently 126 active interim permits in the county, five of which would be subject to new state guidelines.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2024, the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) will no longer issue provisional licenses to large-scale cannabis farmers, including outdoor grows with more than one acre of total canopy and indoor/mixed-light grows with more than 22,000 square feet of total canopy. In anticipation of the new state guidelines, the county Planning and Building Department will not renew interim permits for any cultivation that falls into one of these categories, according to the staff report.

Jan. 1, 2025, is the last day for the DCC to renew a provisional license. Jan. 1, 2026, is the last day for any provisional license to be in effect.

Speaking during public comment, Holly Carter, a consultant with Oxalis Services, asked the board to extend the process for interim permits.

“If someone has an interim permit and a state permit that is active, those are two of the major components that [demonstrate that] they are in compliance and working in the legal industry,” Carter said. “I feel sad to hear that people are still having this assumption that there’s a desire to just kick things down the road. If someone applied for a project six years ago and they’re hanging in there, they’re hanging in there for a reason. We’re not looking to drag things out just to pull one over on you.” 

Shifting to the moratorium aspect of the discussion, Natalynne DeLapp, Executive Director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance, encouraged the board to allow for flexibility. “There’s nothing about cannabis that should be set in stone.”

DeLapp | Screenshot

“We do not support closing the door on accepting applications for smaller and medium-sized, – as defined by the state – cultivation,” she continued. “We should continue to provide a pathway forward for legal cultivation to enter the market. If we are going to do a moratorium, keep it simple. Voter initiatives and referendums ought to be a single page or less. If we are going to make amendments to the ordinance that is through a legislative process that would be best done next year.”

Following public comment, Bushnell reiterated that she initiated the item to provide information to the board and local cultivators, adding that the board was not obligated to make a decision on the matter right away.

After a bit of discussion, Bushnell made a motion to accept the report and directed staff to return to the board in the next 60 days with additional information on the subject, with Madrone offering a second. 

The motion passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote.

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Other odds and ends from Tuesday’s meeting:

• The board approved a resolution authorizing the Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters to not list supporters/opponents of local measures on county ballots in future elections, as required by Assembly Bill 1416. The bill, passed by the California Legislature last year, gives counties the option of printing the list of supporters and opponents of local measures on the actual ballot, which is limited to 125 characters. Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes noted that the information is readily available in the voter information guides that are accessible at polling stations. The board approved the item in a 5-0 vote.
• Several members of SEIU Local 2015 spoke ahead of closed session to urge the board to support in-home supportive care workers and ensure seniors and people with disabilities can access the life-saving care they need. 
• Three members of the Shelter Cove Volunteer Fire Department were presented with Life-Saving Awards to recognize their heroic efforts in an ocean rescue and recovery that took place last year.

PREVIOUSLY: Local Tribe Backs Out of Hosting ‘Freedom Conference’ Led by Inflammatory Ferndale Pastor Tyrel Bramwell

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Josefina Frank, chairwoman of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, emailed the following statement in response to an inquiry from the Outpost:

Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria Refusal to host “Freedom of Conscience and Religious Liberty Conference”

LOLETA / CA – OCTOBER 4, 2023: The Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria has determined that the request from St. Mark Lutheran Church to host their event titled “Freedom of Conscience and Religious Liberty Conference” will not be hosted at any of the Bear River Band facilities and was in fact cancelled. 

The Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria has not made this determination out of discrimination towards another faith or others’ beliefs. On the contrary, The Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria supports one’s right to their faith as well as freedom of speech.

On October 10th, 2022 Pastor Tyrel Bramwell shared publicly a video expressing his views on Christopher Columbus and his concerns regarding the County of Humboldt recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day rather than Columbus Day. This video not only allowed Pastor Bramwell to express his concerns but also exercise his freedom of speech.

It was within this video that the remarks and statements he made were found to be extremely insensitive and offensive to the Indigenous Peoples of this area to include the tribal membership of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria.  

“The amount of genocide that has taken place within our Tribal Nation and the Tribal Nations surrounding us is great. We have not forgotten how our people have suffered and how our children are continuing to suffer because of the acts committed against us and by those identified in the video dated October 10th, 2022. The Bear River Band will not stand behind any individual/group who has a blatant disregard for the atrocities that have taken place. It is for this reason that the determination has been made to not host the event as requested by St. Mark Lutheran Church,” [said] Josefina Frank, Tribal Chairwoman, Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria.

PREVIOUSLY: FIRE HYDRANT ART in ARCATA?! The City is Looking to Add Some Color to G and H Streets and Wants Your Input

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You may have noticed that many of the fire hydrants around Arcata have been gettin fresh, colorful new ‘fits. That’s because the City of Arcata decided it was time to give the drab downtown hydrants a makeover, and after putting out a call for local artists in February, the project is finishing up this week. 

Twenty hydrants were painted along G and H Streets and Eighth and Ninth Streets by 21 different local artists whose design ideas were selected by a content review panel. At this point, most of the hydrant murals are complete, though a couple of artists are still finishing up their work this week. 

The project is a collaboration between the City of Arcata and Playhouse Arts, and is a part of Arcata’s efforts to beautify and bolster economic recovery in the downtown area. Funding for the project came out of $4.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded to the City in 2021 to help relieve the financial burden brought on by the COVID pandemic.

Map showing the fire hydrant art locations and he artists that completed each one

The Arcata City Council set aside a chunk of that money to go toward beautifying the downtown area, particularly G and H Streets north of the Arcata Plaza. The idea behind prioritizing these streets is that they serve as the main corridor between Cal Poly Humboldt and downtown and are thus many students’ and visitors’ primary impression of the town. 

In a previous interview with the Outpost, Emily Benvie, Arcata’s deputy director of community and environmental services, said that the project was partially inspired by  Eureka’s utility box art program, where different artists were commissioned by businesses to revamp the city’s unsightly utility boxes. Arcata city staff chose to have fire hydrants painted instead of utility boxes because there are a lot of them downtown, many of them were looking pretty shabby, and they are small and relatively easy to paint. Unlike Eureka’s program, the artists were paid from the grant funding, rather than sponsored by businesses. 

To highlight the project’s completion, Playhouse Arts and the City compiled a nice little map that shows where each of the painted hydrants is located and which artist completed each piece. 

The City of Arcata, Playhouse Arts and the local artists will be celebrating the completion of the project this Saturday, Oct. 7 on the Arcata Plaza, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Brochures contain the map, and other information about the fire hydrant project will be available for you to take. So, after you check out the pastel artists doing their thing, you could take yourself on a fire hydrant art tour!

Humboldt Bay Harbor District release:

Eureka will welcome the Silversea Silver Wind with 127 guests and 227 crew to Humboldt Bay on Saturday, October 7th, docking around 1:00 PM. The ship will enter Humboldt Bay at 12:15 PM and be led into the harbor by a boat parade followed by a private welcome party at Schneider dock. The ship is expected to depart around 8:00 PM.

Ship guests will have the option to experience Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Sequoia Park Zoo and Sky Walk, Old Town Eureka, and a tour of the Victorians of Eureka and Humboldt including a tour of the Blue Ox Millworks.

The cruise visit and welcome party are a collaborative effort planned by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, the City of Eureka, Eureka Main Street, Humboldt County Office of Economic Development, Visit Humboldt, Petrusha Pilots and Zerlang and Zerlang Marine Services. Special thanks to Chet Albin, Dave Schneider, and Schneider Dock.

The Silversea Silver Wind departed from Vancouver, BC on October 2nd and is traveling south along the Pacific Coast on a 16-day cruise ending in Puerto Vallarta, where it will take on more passengers and continue south to Chile.

The ship is expected to be visible around noon on Saturday; local citizens can watch the arrival from the Del Norte Street pier, the Park and Ride at Herrick Avenue and the Samoa boat ramp at the north jetty.

If you have any phones laying around that you’d rather other people not know about, be aware that they’re scheduled to blare into life this morning.

Press release from the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services:

To help ensure the national alert and warning system is ready to provide timely, accurate information during the next disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test at approximately 11:20 a.m. PT on Wednesday, October 4.

This 1-minute test alert sent to TVs, radios and smartphones is similar to the weekly or monthly testing that happens on a local and regional level. The message that appears on phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The message sent to smartphones will display in either English or Spanish, depending on the language settings.

No action is required by the public. This alert is simply a test of a robust readiness system should a nationwide alert be necessary in the future. If the October 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is October 11 at the same time.  

For more information on Wireless Emergency Alerts, including FAQs on the upcoming test, please visit fcc.gov/consumers/guides/wireless-emergency-alerts-wea.

The public is encouraged to register for emergency information specific to Humboldt County via Humboldt Alert. A test of the Humboldt Alert System will be conducted on Thursday, October 19 during the state’s observance of the Great California ShakeOut Drill. 

California State University student workers are one step closer to unionizing after announcing today that the California Public Employment Relations Board has deemed there is enough student support to trigger a union vote.

After vetting thousands of union cards submitted by student assistants, the board notified the CSU Employees Union on Sept. 27 they met the threshold following a wave of organizing this past year. Over 19,300 student assistants will soon vote on forming one of the largest student worker unions in U.S. history. Their ranks would more than double the size of the employees union, which already represents 16,000 support staff across the 23 campuses.

Student assistants work at front desks and in back offices in many capacities throughout the campuses, such as information technology, financial aid, and facilities management. Both undergraduate and graduate students can hold these positions.

Student assistants say unionizing would allow them to bargain for higher pay, more hours, and sick leave, among other benefits. Currently, student employees in the CSU system earn the state minimum wage, even in areas with higher local minimum wages, are restricted to working no more than 20 hours per week, and do not receive paid time off when they are sick.

In a news conference earlier today, student workers shared their experiences and thoughts on the announcement.

“We do the work of union staff, are paid minimum wage, get no sick leave or benefits, and that’s why I’m looking forward to voting for a union.”
— Leah Baker, senior computer science major at CSU Monterey Bay

A Cal State Los Angeles historian and student assistant Diana Perez said she often has needed to take on multiple jobs to support her family due to the 20 hours per week limit the CSU places on student workers.

“My mom and my sister are both sick. I’m the head of household and sole provider,” Perez said. “Over my six years working as a student assistant, I’ve held two, sometimes three jobs at once. Juggling multiple jobs has slowed me down trying to finish my master’s degree. However, that hasn’t stopped me.”

Leah Baker, a senior computer science major at CSU Monterey Bay, spoke during the news conference about her experience as a student assistant in her school’s IT department.

“This summer alone, I assisted in the replacement of over 200 computers across campus,” Baker said. “My job has a direct impact on student success.”

“We do the work of union staff, are paid minimum wage, get no sick leave or benefits, and that’s why I’m looking forward to voting for a union,” Baker said.

CSU starts student assistant pay at the California state minimum wage of $15.50 an hour, even though some areas of the state have higher local minimum wages. CSU also does not offer sick leave to its student assistants, although California does require employers to provide at least 24 hours or 3 days of sick leave.

Student assistants interviewed at their campuses today had mixed reactions to the news. Cal State Fullerton fourth-year communications major Cameron Macedonio said he’s most looking forward to students receiving paid sick leave.

“No one should have to come to work sick,” said Macedonio, the general manager at Titan Radio. “Last month, I was sick for like two weeks. And I was coming to work still because it was, like, I needed to pay my rent.”

Angel Garza is a senior biology major and a student assistant for the Edible Garden under the Basic Needs Department at CSU Bakersfield. Garza said he is responsible for managing the Edible Garden, from arriving early or staying late to open and close the garden, providing guidance, and assigning tasks to other workers. He said that this creates stress for him because he does not receive any benefits, nor is he accommodated for performing a leadership role.

“We are students here, and yes, this isn’t like a full-time job, and this is more of a means to an end. But for me, I do use all the money that I get for working here to help provide my parents with rent, and I do pay for my own food, my own insurance. So, having the ability to get our voices heard could help potentially increase our wages and have some sort of benefits for us students,” Garza said.

“Last month, I was sick for like two weeks. And I was coming to work still because it was, like, I needed to pay my rent.”
— Cameron Macedonio, fourth-year communications major at Cal State Fullerton

Not all students agree that unionizing is the right move. Kristina Agresta, a third-year public relations major and international business minor at Cal State Long Beach, debated whether to support the unionization effort. On the one hand, she often does a lot of unpaid work because she is maxed out on her hours. However, in her student assistant role as director of operations at Beach Media, the business hub for student media at the campus, she sees the challenge of giving more hours and higher wages to all 70 student assistants in her division.

In the end, Agresta chose to not sign her union card.

“Frankly, the demands that the union has, I personally can’t afford to bend to if they’re asking for more hours and better pay,” she said. “I mean, student media would go broke and we would essentially not be able to pay anyone.”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who serves as an ex-officio member of the CSU Board of Trustees, also spoke at the press conference.

“The California State University is stronger today because students are rising up to hold the university system true to its mission to open the doors of higher education and a strong future to every student, no matter their background,” Thurmond said. “I strongly encourage CSU leadership to respect the state board decision and agree to a fast and fair election for their student assistants.”

The CSU has until Oct. 12 to respond to the California Public Employment Relations Board’s announcement. The employees union is hoping to hold the election as early as January. As of now, the CSU Chancellor’s Office has not commented on the announcement.

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San Roque is a fellow with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CJN fellows Haydee Barahona, Briana Mendez-Padilla, and Hugo Rios contributed to this story. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.

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