Chancellor's "CSU Forward" Plan Stumbles
On January 5, Chancellor Mildred García issued a message describing the CSU as aligned, collaborative, and committed to becoming an “employer of choice,” including an announcement about a one-time 3% payment for certain employees. We want to provide clarity and respond directly to that message.
The CSU is trying to create divisions between employee groups and use what would be a heavily-taxed bonus to bait employees into giving up base-building raises.
While the Chancellor’s statement emphasizes collaboration and respect for collective bargaining, the CSU has chosen to move forward unilaterally with one-time payments for managers, administrators, and confidential employees - while excluding union-represented employees. That decision does not reflect meaningful collaboration or alignment.
Respecting collective bargaining means negotiating compensation decisions before they are implemented, not after selective distributions have already occurred.
It is also important to be clear about what was announced. This payment is not a raise. It is one-time money, calculated off base pay, heavily taxed, and does not increase base salary, count toward retirement, or contribute to pension calculations. Once issued, it disappears. It does nothing to address long-standing issues facing CSU employees, including wage stagnation, increased workloads, recruitment and retention challenges, and the rising cost of living across California.
The CSU has framed this approach as a step toward becoming an “employer of choice.” However, employers of choice invest in ongoing, pensionable compensation, not temporary bonuses that provide no lasting financial security for employees.
This decision also creates inequity across the workforce. Moving forward with payments for non-represented employees while union-represented employees are told to wait undermines unity and fairness. CSU employees do not work in silos - staff, faculty, and administrators collectively support students and the CSU mission. Compensation decisions should reflect that shared reality.
Student success, which the Chancellor rightly identifies as the CSU’s North Star, depends on a stable, supported, and fairly compensated workforce. Burnout, turnover, and financial insecurity among staff directly impact students and campus operations.
Contrary to what the Chancellor stated, our Union is not delaying compensation. We are exercising our legal and contractual right to bargain to ensure that any compensation solution is fair, equitable, and sustainable for our members over the long term. True collaboration requires transparency, patience, and a commitment to negotiated outcomes - not unilateral action.
We will continue to advocate for compensation solutions that respect collective bargaining, support CSU employees, and strengthen the long-term health of the university system. Members will be kept informed as this process continues - because when we fight, we win.