Equality Labs Commends: Cal State Board of Trustees Votes Unanimously to Ratify California Faculty Association Collective Bargaining Agreement that Adds Caste as Protected Category to Anti-Discrimination Clauses

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In a historic meeting of the California State University (CSU) system, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to ratify the California Faculty Association's (CFA) collective bargaining agreement. This agreement sets an important precedent by including caste as a protected category to anti-discrimination clauses for all contracted employees. This win further builds on the CSU system's earlier announcement that caste will be added as a protected category to its non-discrimination policy. Cal State is the largest four-year public university system in the United States.

112 Cal State faculty along with nearly 500 allied academics, numerous civil rights organizations, Ambedkarite dalit civil rights organizations, trade, and labor unions submitted letters of support for adding caste to the Cal State Non-Discrimination Policy and to urge Trustees to ratify CFA's Collective Bargaining Agreement to further caste equity for millions of CSU students, staff, faculty, and workers.

Here are reactions from statewide leaders who support caste equity.

Charles Toombs, California Faculty Association (CFA) President
"We strongly support the inclusion of caste as a protected category. It is about non-discrimination not discrimination. We have received almost 100 letters and emails of support from across the state and the nation in support of caste as a protected category."

Ruvani Fonseka, Assistant Professor, San Jose State University School of Social Work
"As a caste-privileged Sri Lankan-American woman of Sinhala-Buddhist descent and a CFA member, I support the addition of caste to the antidiscrimination statement in the collective bargaining agreement. In January 2022, CSU added caste to their non-discrimination policy. The inclusion of caste in the agreement is another important move towards equality and nondiscrimination for the most vulnerable members of the CSU community."

Marilyn Tseng, Chair, Academic Senate Diversity Committee, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
"CSU is to be applauded for recognizing caste as a protected category in its revised non-discrimination policy. This important step is the result of organizers and educators who recognized the experience of an oppressed group, then worked to bring this experience to light. Addressing unfair treatment on the basis of caste falls squarely within the scope and spirit of CSU's non-discrimination policy, and explicit recognition of it within the policy is well warranted."

APALA: Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO affiliate
"Freedom from caste discrimination is inextricably tied to workers' rights. The urgency of this issue is high, given the seriousness of caste discrimination complaints arising from multiple industries including university, tech, construction, and domestic workers."

Will Jamil Wiltschko, Director, California Trade Justice Coalition
"The California Trade Justice Coalition, an alliance of labor unions, environmental, public health, immigrant rights, and human rights organizations, stands in support of caste-oppressed students, faculty, and staff within the CSU system and beyond, whose tireless organizing made this historic civil rights win possible."

Prem Pariyar, MSW Alumnus, CSU East Bay and Lead Organizer
"As I fight for caste protections, I fight for human rights for myself and all Dalit students and caste-oppressed communities who experience discrimination and violence. We are seeing positive and encouraging results of adding caste as a protected category in the CSU system. I am hopeful the Board of Trustees will stay committed to policies focused on creating safe spaces for all, including caste-oppressed students, staff and faculty."

Sonja Thomas, Women's Studies Department Chair, Colby College
"In October 2021, Colby became the second college in the nation to add caste to our non-discrimination policy. By recognizing caste as a protected category, we protect those who may experience this discrimination in any religion. It is unfortunately the case that those with the most amount of privilege voice anger and convoluted arguments when oppressed peoples ask for mere equity. I applaud this board for standing up to such fragility. And for seeing caste as a human rights issue."

Manmit Singh Chahal, lead organizer, San Francisco State University
"I want to thank the CSU administration for listening to student voices and adding caste protections. This victory is exemplary of the power of an inter-faith, inter-caste, multiracial coalition of students, staff, faculty, and community leaders committed to equity and justice. It has taken months of immense labor, education, advocacy, and community building to reach this point where caste protections now exist for over 55,000 staff and faculty and over a half a million students."

Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Executive Director, Equality Labs
"Caste-oppressed students, community members, and the labor movement stood shoulder to shoulder to secure this win. As California university alum, I know what happens to caste-oppressed people without these protections. We face casteist slurs, microaggressions, housing discrimination, and gender-based violence. This aligns with our research on caste-based discrimination across the U.S. That's why this win matters."

Maya Kamble, Ambedkar Association of North America
"On behalf of 20 leading Ambedkarite Dalit civil rights organizations in the U.S. we thank the Cal State Board for Trustees for affirming caste equity and leading the nation for how this can be done similarly at other universities. Casteism is present in every university in the U.S. As a survivor of casteism in education, I have witnessed caste segregation in student housing and supported students who suffered caste discrimination. We look forward to when caste will be a protected category across the United States."

SOURCE Equality Labs