CSUMB employees take to the streets to protest layoff notices.

Marina was shrouded in a dense and chilly fog late Monday afternoon, Oct. 19, but it didn’t deter 10 CSU Monterey Bay staff members and supporters from standing atop the 8th Street Highway 1 overpass with banners that read “No layoffs at CSUMB.” Honks from passing cars and trucks punctuated the rush hour demonstration, one of three that took place since Friday, Oct. 16, including one with about 50 demonstrators in front of the campus house of President Edward Ochoa.

It’s unclear if Ochoa was home, but with a background working as a faculty member early in his career, he’s sympathetic, says Chief of Staff Larry Samuels.

The protests stem from layoff notices that, as of Oct. 19, numbered 21, down from the 29 potential layoffs administrators announced in August. University officials stated the layoffs were necessary due to lack of work as classes shifted online last spring, a status that is expected to continue until next June. Leaders of the CSU Employees Union Chapter 322 were hopeful they could save more positions during bargaining sessions that began on Oct. 20. The layoffs take effect Nov. 30.

“We don’t think lack of work is true,” says CSUEU President Sathyan Sundaram. He believes staff members can be reassigned to other tasks with some retraining, like providing IT support to faculty and students.

Samuels says the university is supportive of the rights of the union to protest and acknowledges the “unfortunate reality” of layoffs due to budget constraints. Approximately 2 percent of the workforce could lose their jobs.

“In the end, we’re really trying to act on behalf of the institution and the taxpayers,” Samuels says.