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The union that represents San Mateo Community College teachers, counselors, coaches, nurses and other faculty recently voted to authorize a strike, saying the district failed to meet its demands for a new contract.
The district operates Skyline College in San Bruno, Cañada College in Redwood City and the College of San Mateo.
“Our contract expired June 30, 2025,” said Rika Yonemura-Fabian, president of the San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers, AFT 1493.
The vote to authorize a strike took place on Thursday, March 12, with a 95% margin, reflecting frustration over working without a new contract. About 80% of union members participated in the vote.
“We are asking for sufficient raises that would match the extremely high cost of living in San Mateo County,” Yonemura-Fabian said.
The union also wants changes to the pay structure so faculty performing comparable work, such as teaching labs and lectures, are compensated equally. The union said the district has rejected those proposals, along with calls for a fairer pay system for adjunct faculty.
The union also cited academic freedom concerns, saying the district has refused to address the issue despite faculty worries about the current political climate.
“We are extremely disappointed that the district does not acknowledge the importance of these issues for our faculty and fails to see the impact of this neglect that trickles down to students,” Yonemura-Fabian said.
In a statement, the San Mateo County Central Labor Council expressed support for the union’s vote and said it hoped to resolve a new contract before a strike.
“They deserve a fair contract that recognizes the value of their labor,” said Julie Lind, executive secretary-treasurer of the council, which represents 105 affiliated unions.
In a March 9 statement, district officials said they had offered the union more than $31 million in compensation.
“SMCCCD deeply values our faculty and the essential role they play in the classroom and in supporting student success,” Chancellor Melissa Moreno said in the statement.
“This proposal reflects our bold effort to date to offer meaningful salary increases based on a new parity framework. If accepted, AFT and the district’s shared goal of parity will finally be achieved.”
The union, however, disputes the $31 million figure.
“Their accounting methods are meant to overinflate their offers to make it seem like they are offering far more than what they actually are,” Yonemura-Fabian said. “The actual value of their offer to faculty is in the neighborhood of $12-$13 million over three years.”
Student clubs also issued a statement following the vote in support of the strike.
“Skyline students fully support our faculty strike,” a coalition of eighteen Skyline College clubs said in an Instagram post Thursday. “We stand in solidarity with our teachers in their fight for fair and livable wages, academic freedom and better learning conditions for our students.”
The district maintains it is committed to working with the union to reach a contract.
“Reaching a fair agreement with AFT is our utmost priority, and the district is committed to working tirelessly through the fact-finding process to avoid a strike,” said David McClain, executive director of community and government relations for the District. “Our faculty deserve that, and our students depend on it.”
The vote does not necessarily mean a strike will occur. The next step in the process is fact-finding, in which a neutral third party reviews the dispute and issues a recommendation to help the two sides reach an agreement.
“We of course hope we settle a strong and fair contract during fact-finding, but if that does not happen, we are ready to strike,” Yonemura-Fabian said. “The district should take the result of this vote seriously.”
