Journalism 133: Prof. Craig: Faculty Strike Sidebar Exercise

Faculty Strike Sidebar Exercise

Coming to campus today, you may have noticed picket lines with striking Teamsters workers, who are demanding improved working conditions for their members employed throughout the California State University campuses.  

You may also know that the California Faculty Association, the union that represents your professors and lecturers, is contemplating a strike among its membership, which would affect SJSU's students and could cause picket lines and cancelled classes.  This strike might not happen, but there are plans in the works for walkouts in December if a new contract agreement isn't reached.

The following material is a speculative story depicting what might happen if the faculty go on strike. Your assignment is to come up with as many sidebar or follow-up story ideas as you can for this story, based upon this material.  

Hundreds of San Jose State University faculty went on strike Thursday, walking out along with other professors and lecturers throughout the California State University system. By late morning, 300 to 400 people showed up on the picket lines, some by the busloads, according to union officials. The union represents 29,000 faculty members across CSU's 23 campuses. The union called the strike "a major step" in what has been a contentious battle with the CSU Board of Trustees over pay raises. Professors who had classes scheduled Thursday informed students that they would not be meeting, she said. Some professors gave students their assignments earlier in the week. Union leaders were scheduled to travel to Sacramento Friday to continue contract negotiations. About 20 to 30 CSU police officers were staged around entrances to the campus during the strike, according to a spokesman for the university. CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia was not available for comment.

Meet in your assigned groups for the next few minutes, then we will reconvene and discuss your sidebar story ideas, how you would approach them, who you would try to interview, etc.  At the end of class, email me your group's sidebar writeup. 

Groups for exercise:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Mat Bejarano Hannah Jaques	Loren Ball Julia Chie	Carlos Reyes Alyssa Phillips	Aaliyah Roman Joaquin De La Torre	Kea Joaquin Justin Ray Alexis Corona-Aguilar	Karson Wells Jonathan Martinez	Ailin Zhang Isabella Dandoy