An email was sent to the campus community on Tuesday by the California State University Employee Union accusing administrators in Associated Students of anti-union efforts. This follows a mandatory, confidential staff meeting that was held on Oct. 28 — led by Executive Director Jamie Clyde, Human Resources Director Leah Mercer and Associate Executive Director Jon Simmons.

In an email to The Orion, CSUEU representative Nabil Cristillo said, “As we’ve begun assisting them, management has responded with a full-scale anti-union campaign, including coercing employees and even threatening to reprimand managers who show support.”

An Associated Students spokesperson says this isn’t true.

“Associated Students leadership held a confidential meeting with managers on Oct. 28 to acknowledge ongoing union organizing activity and provide guidance to ensure that all employees are informed of their rights under federal labor law and that workplace practices remain fully compliant,” said Assistant Director of Marketing & Outreach Anna Paladini, after The Orion requested comment.  

Staff managers came out of the Oct. 28 meeting with varied views. 

One staffer, who spoke to The Orion on condition of anonymity, said they “are afraid of retaliation if (they) openly support unionization and the meeting felt like an intimidation tactic.” Another staffer, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, claims they experienced workplace retaliation. 

“We have not, nor would we retaliate against any of our employees for protected concerted activities as defined by the National Labor Relation Act,” Paladini said. “It was made clear during the meeting that any AS manager that engages in activities that violate NLRA rules, including interfering with union efforts, could face employment consequences.”

Three staff members who were at the meeting spoke to The Orion on condition of anonymity. Each characterized the meeting as anti-union, but two noted that management didn’t say anything directly anti-union. 

Two staffers shared the same example of behavior they considered anti-union: in the meeting, management said that all job descriptions and raises would be frozen during unionization efforts. Then Clyde and Mercer talked about “AS being family” and noted all of the benefits that staffers have. 

Both staffers said that the meeting began with Clyde telling everyone to “put away their phones” and that recording and photography weren’t allowed. Management says it is a standard practice to create “a safe, comfortable space for employees to ask questions, express concerns and share perspectives.”

Both staffers also said Clyde and Mercer repeatedly stated that supervisors were supposed to remain neutral, and staff are legally allowed to discuss unionizing.

Director of the Wildcat Recreation Center Teresa Clements said the meeting focused on what supervisors can and can’t do when employees begin to unionize — she felt the meeting was not anti- or pro-union, but rather, to give important information to supervisors. 

Residential Dining Assistant Manager Jared Vanderhyde said he wasn’t authorized to speak, but considered the meeting “neutral.” Assistant Director of the WREC Collin Chambers also felt similarly to Vanderhyde. 

The Orion also made efforts to speak with other staff members. Some were unavailable. Others, including Event and Outreach Coordinator Thomas Duran, Auxiliary Business Director Thomas Rider, Assistant Director for AS Conference Services Kelsey Torres, Catering Manager Danielle Fierro and Program Director for CAVE Katey VonMosch, said they didn’t want to comment. 

Reporters asked Student Involvement Supervisor for Associated Students Government Brooke McCall — who was sent an invite — about the meeting, but she said she knew nothing about it and didn’t attend. 

At 12:05 p.m. on Thursday, an email was sent out to Associated Students staff saying, “If you are contacted by someone from the media, including student reporters from The Orion, please notify the Marketing and Outreach office as soon as possible.” 

The email later states it isn’t intended to stifle voices, but “… to ensure that our organization communicates clearly, consistently and comprehensively.” One anonymous staffer said this is another example of management “treading water.” 

When reporters asked Mercer about the meeting on Oct. 28, she stated that it was confidential. When reporters asked who initiated the meeting, who decided it would be confidential, and what led to that decision, she stated that information was also confidential. The email invite was sent by Mercer at the end of the workday on Oct. 27, less than 24 hours before the meeting was scheduled. About 50 supervisors received the invite. 

“We will be discussing important and time-sensitive human resource information for supervisors,” the email stated. “Please don’t worry; but this is an important information session that requires your attendance.” 

What could have led to this?

Some staff in Chico State’s Associated Students received an email Sept. 25 sent by Geoff Luoma, program coordinator for Sacramento State’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and representative for ASI’s bargaining unit. 

The email calls for people to fill out a survey sent by CSUEU, and take a stance of solidarity with staff in Associated Students who may want to unionize. 

ASI unionized last Spring and is currently in the bargaining process. The CSUEU accused ASI of disciplining a staff member because of unionization efforts. In response, ASI Executive Director Hoan Nguyen issued a statement on ASI’s stance of neutrality concerning unionization. 

“It (ASI) does not oppose the unionization effort by the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU),” the statement said. “ASI is taking a neutral position and believes that its employees should have complete freedom to exercise their rights to unionize …”

Cristillo said that his union first began receiving interest in unionizing from some Associated Students staff “mid-September.”

Cristillo has been active on campus. He has been connecting with students from Dining Services and the WREC who have shown interest in unionizing. When he sent a campus-wide email to the community Tuesday accusing Associated Students administrators of launching “… an intentional anti-union campaign …” he said he began receiving emails from the campus community in support of union efforts.

There are also posters — printed by Cristillo — in the Dining Hall and Butte Station, and potentially in other places around campus. These posters, titled “What they say vs. The truth,” were curated from meeting notes taken by a staff member from the Oct. 28 meeting, according to Cristillo. 

While The Orion has those meeting notes, it was unable to verify the author or some of the statements made. When The Orion asked the two anonymous staffers about each point, they had a different perspective on some of the statements. 

For example, the poster says that “There are benefits (cash-in-lieu, incentives) if employees do not unionize.” However, both staffers said that wasn’t what management stated. According to them, promotions and title changes would freeze during the unionization period. They said the meeting then centered on all of the benefits Associated Students already provides. 

Both staffers agreed it seemed strange and characterized it as walking the line.

When Cristillo was asked to comment, he said that management isn’t legally allowed to say that. He said that many of the benefits afforded to people in Associated Students are due to state-side staffers — within unions — trickling down to people in Associated Students. 

The poster also states, “If management speaks in favor of unionization, there will be retaliation.” Both staffers The Orion spoke to said that management was clear about supervisors remaining neutral in this process. They said they were told that interfering could result in disciplinary action. 

“Managers can promote the union, managers can’t promote workers not to,” Cristillo said. “Management rights, and speaking to managers about this is about who has the ability to fire or hire people.” 

The posters also accompanied another email sent on Wednesday from Cristillo to Associated Students employees, with much of the same information from the poster. Attached was a survey asking students to share if they support joining the CSUEU and what workplace benefits students would like to see. 

“Workers have to want to form a union, because a union is just that, a unity of workers that are coming together,” Cristillo said. 

While Associated Students is run by students through its Board of Directors, staff are managed by the executive director. 

This is not the first time there have been conversations about unionization within Associated Students, said Michael Pratt, Union Steward for Academic Professionals of California and former Associated Students President. 

“When we approached the executive director (David Buckley) about the need to have unions, we were told essentially it was not permitted … it’s a violation of our fiduciary responsibility to allow our staff to unionize,” Pratt said. 

In 2024, CSUEU successfully brought in about 20,000 student employees across the CSU — not within Associated Students — with a vote of 97%, according to reporting from The Orion. Which, according to Cristillo, he also helped organize. 

Cristillo said that unionization efforts here are being carried out with students and career staff, concurrently. He said that a couple hundred students have expressed interest in unionizing. CSUEU has reached out to about 50% of full-time staff, and only 2 people have said they aren’t supportive of joining the union. 

“Ultimately, it’s each employee’s right and responsibility to evaluate the information being shared by union organizers and make the choice they believe is best for them,” Paladini said. “It is our responsibility as an organization to foster a workplace that is safe, welcoming, and respectful; that complies fully with federal labor law; and upholds our mission to enrich the quality of campus life through programs and services created for students, by students.”

When The Orion asked for a comment from management regarding CSUEU accusations of anti-union actions, they offered no response directly concerning the actions. 

The Orion requested comment from Associated Students President Tia Saunders on student unionization efforts and CSUEU’s accusations of management launching an “anti-union campaign.” She had not provided a comment by the time of publication. 

Chris Hutton can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]