The faculty at San José State University and the other campuses in the CA state system are on strike. The demands include higher wages and fewer students per classroom.
When I started teaching at San José State the profs were not organized. In the early 80’s we had a system-wide election between the United Professors of CA and the CA Faculty Association. I was recruiting for the UPC, an AFL-CIO affiliated union. CFA won; I thought at the time the profs just couldn’t quite picture themselves in the same organization as steel workers and farm laborers. Nonetheless, in a few years the CFA was part of the Santa Clara County Labor Chapter and had all the trappings of a full-fledged union. Benefits flowed.
In my lifetime I’ve been a member of four unions: the Bethlehem Municipal Workers, the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the CFA. I receive pensions. I have medical care. And I will now sing “Solidarity Forever” and “You can’t get me, I’m part of the union.”
I was a member of the International Bookbinders. I was working for the reproduction department of an industry film company. We had a camera that produced a 48" x 96" negative. I took my brother's place. Mostly I cleaned. Then the union shop steward discovered me. I thought I would get fired. Instead, my hourly went from$1.65/ hour to $3.50.
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