Teamsters strike at SDSU impacts traffic on I-8
By Miriam Raftery
February 17, 2026 (San Diego) – Teamsters Local 2010 is holding a four-day unfair labor practice strike at 22 California State University campuses starting today, including San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos. Campuses remain open, however an alert sent by SDSU cautions that traffic along I-8 near campus is backed up; students and motorists should allow for extra travel time and plan for alternate routes.
According to a flyer posted online by the labor union, “The 1,100 Skilled Trades Teamsters have worked hard and sacrificed to keep the CSU running through the pandemic and beyond, yet CSU has refused to honor step increases and their contractual obligations.”
The union accuses CSU of unfair labor practices including failure to provide raises in July 2025 per a contract, as well as bad faith bargaining and distributing anti-union communications. Prior to the current contract, according to the union, CSU had denied workers regular step raises for 28 years.
CSU did pay raises for the first two years of the current contract, but sought to reopen negotiations in 2025 because the state of California did not fully fund CSU.
The union claims only a small fraction of funding was deferred and notes that the proposed 2026-2027 state budget would give a 5% increase to CSU’s budget, or $264.8 million, and would also provide $100.9 million to partially fund the amount deferred in 2024-25.
According to EdSource, the Teamsters’ disagreement with Cal State hinges on how to interpret a portion of the union’s contract that grants workers raises if the state fully funds the university system. The Teamsters argue that CSU is fully funded thanks to a $144 million, zero-interest loan lawmakers included in the 2025-26 state budget — and say that means workers should receive base salary increases.
But Cal State leaders disagree and say they can’t grant ongoing raises based on a one-time loan that the state may not restore to their budget next year. Instead, the university is proposing a one-time, 3% bonus for all employees.