By admin 
After months of worker-led demonstrations and rallies across its campuses, the California State University has reached a tentative agreement with the first of the many labor unions it is currently in negotiations with.
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The university announced an agreement Thursday with Academic Professionals of California, which represents student services professionals. Under the deal, the CSU will provide APC-represented employees a one-time payment of $3,325 in December, a 4% salary increase retroactive to July 2026 and an additional 4% salary increase in July 2027.
“Our focus has always been to get more money in the pockets of our members, and this deal does that,” said APC President Mario Baeza. “I don’t think it’s a really tremendous win. I just think it’s something for us now because then we can go back to the negotiating table in 2028.”
APC, unlike other unions like the California Faculty Association and California State University Employees Union, was bargaining only over salaries for the last year. The last time it secured a salary increase was a 5% raise in 2024. APC will enter full contract negotiations with the CSU in 2028.
Now, the union’s membership of more than 3,700 employee has until Nov. 2 to vote on the agreement. If ratified by a majority of members, the agreement will come before the CSU Board of Trustees at its November meeting.
“This agreement demonstrates what can be achieved when we work together to find solutions that deliver meaningful compensation improvements for our employees while remaining financially sustainable for the CSU,” said Chancellor Mildred García in a statement. “We appreciate the work of both bargaining teams to reach an agreement that provides employees with immediate and ongoing financial benefits while supporting our shared commitment to student success.”
Negotiations with other unions
Meanwhile, the CSU’s negotiations with all its other labor unions remain ongoing. This includes the California Faculty Association and the California State University Employees Union, both of which are demanding better pay and working conditions.
After more than a year of negotiations and a proposal from the CSU to increase salaries by 3%, the California Faculty Association — which represents about 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches — declared impasse in July. Negotiations were then mediated by a state-appointed third party. After that too failed to move the parties towards a resolution, CFA and the CSU are now at the “fact-finding” stage where a panel of a neutral third-party and a representative of each side will hold hearings and make a recommendation for a settlement. If there is still no agreement, the union could call for a strike. Salary, workload, academic freedom and artificial intelligence remain points of contention, union representatives said.
“This decision (to move to fact-finding) comes after management’s repeated failure to take our demands seriously and their refusal to acknowledge the respect we deserve and the hardships that we currently face in the CSU system,” said CFA representatives in an update on their website last month.
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The California State University Employees Union, which represents about 15,000 staff members, 20,000 student assistants and 1,000 workers employed by private sector auxiliaries on campuses, is the largest labor group within the system. While the CSUEU contract for healthcare, operations, clerical and technical support services staff expired on July 1, the student and private sector workers within the union are currently negotiating their first contracts.
For staff represented by the CSUEU, major demands include salary raises and reducing dependence on temporary workers. In August, the CSU released a study that found that staff salaries were slightly below the market median for higher education institutions and about 10% below the general industry standard. The union and university have not yet reached an agreement on economic demands.
“We will continue to be out there with the other unions,” APC President Baeza said. “We have told the coalition that even though we have tentatively agreed, their fight is still our fight. If you’re messing with one union, you’re messing with all of us.”
CSU’s outstanding budget concerns
For the labor groups, a major argument in favor of larger salary increases being written into their contracts is that the CSU received a significantly bigger budget from the state in 2026-27 as compared with the previous year.
This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved more than $500 million in new ongoing state support for the university system. This, along with $175 million from tuition increases and $25 million from a 1% enrollment growth, covers the CSU’s essential priority while enabling “enhanced investment” in its strategic plan, officials said.
With more than $700 million in new operating funds in 2026-27, the CSU has allocated more than half of that — $377 million — to employee salaries and benefits. The rest will be divided among things like financial aid, academic programs, and technology and infrastructure, officials said.
Still, officials emphasized that the CSU would have to be fiscally disciplined given the uncertainty of the state’s budget outlook and new, incoming governor in January. The university said it would discuss the long-term effects of rising costs of healthcare benefits with its workers — a move unions see as a step towards cutting current health benefits.
In a statement, the CSU said it was committed to providing high-quality health benefits. It also said it was working towards quickly finding agreements with labor partners that would “provide competitive compensation and high-quality benefits while supporting students and maintaining the university’s long-term financial sustainability.”
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