CLEVELAND — Cleveland State University workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), gathered in the cold and held an informational picket Thursday to voice their frustrations over the lack of progress after five months of contract negotiations.
The union said the university offers a three-year deal with a 1.5% raise in the first year, 1% in the second, and just a half percent or point-five in the third.
"Which based on our salaries is just not sustainable," said Mark Wirtz of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We can't keep up with inflation. Many of us can't even really afford to work here."
Employee Diane Greene said the university's financial troubles have been well documented, and workers say they know money is tight.
"It's all of our problems yet we have to live as well and when the cost of living goes up three percent and we don't even get the point five percent, we're losing money every year," she said.
CSU's budget woes resulted in layoffs last year and the decision in January to eliminate three sports, including men's wrestling. News 5 was there for their final home match of this season. Wrestlers continue to make their case for keeping the program, which they point out operates in the black.
"Our program in 2023 operated at a $100,000 net income to the university, where the basketball programs operated at close to a $3.2 million loss," said senior wrestler Joey Lyons.
They also point out that when wrestling was on the chopping block a decade ago, students voted to pay an additional fee of $3 per credit hour to save it. Somewhere along the line, though, Lyons said, "They went in and they changed the wording in the documentation on the Cleveland State website, from what we've seen, and they changed it so it's a general athletic fund.
They want to know why the change was made, and where the money went, and now, so too does the man who was chairman of the Board of Cleveland State a decade ago when wrestling was saved—Senator Bernie Moreno—who fired off a letter to the university president seeking answers.
"I think the program closing has a lot of questions that are rightfully being asked by the community you know it had a profit, they're saying there's some deferred maintenance and other costs that are overhead that all sports have to bare but I'm not certain that the analysis on making it around whether to keep this program or not makes a lot of sense," Moreno said. "I've asked President Bloomberg to take another look at that, an earnest review, and I hope she does. Obviously I want to be very helpful to Cleveland State University and I want to make certain that the trustees really get together and take one more look at this. I think that the community has actually rallied around the wrestling team and I think they're owed an earnest review."
You can read his letter by CLICKING HERE.
News 5 reached out to Cleveland State but did not hear back.
