First Bargaining Dates of 2026

Next week on April 29, our Student Assistant bargaining team is sitting down with CSU management to continue negotiating their first contract. This is an historic occasion because for the first time ever Staff and Student Assistants will be in contract negotiations together. We have an opportunity this year to win good contracts that set the bar higher - for all of higher education. 

Where do good contracts come from?

Good contracts don’t come from well-reasoned arguments at the bargaining table. They don’t come from emotional appeals to the kind-hearted nature of CSU management. And they don’t come from our smooth-talking Chief Negotiator Ned Burke. 

Good contracts come from action. That’s why on every CSU campus across the state, we’re taking action on April 29 and May 7 to support our bargaining teams. 

What we’re focused on

Our campus-based Contract Action Team (CAT) members are breaking out the blue, lining up their favorite chants and bringing co-workers together to demonstrate our unity for our first bargaining dates of 2026. Everyone’s support is needed to make an impact on bargaining. Sign up to take action on your campus.

Whether it’s coordinating days to wear CSUEU blue, tabling on campus, handing out leaflets at lunch time, or organizing a rally, there are many ways, both big and small, to get involved with your campus CAT. 

In order to build towards the height of our power, a strike, we must begin flexing our union muscles now. Take action with us next week, and the week after that, so that we can win the contract with fully-funded steps, raises and job security we need.

What members should know

Our first bargaining sessions will be focused on the non-economic items. For staff, we are introducing proposals related to contracting out, temp employees, and performance evaluations. After the “May Revise” for the CA Budget, we will aggressively pursue proposals related to fully-funded steps and raises. 

Our new members at UG2, the newly unionized custodial contracting service used at CSU Monterey Bay, ratified their contract last week. Join me in celebrating our growing union family! It’s important that we stop the CSU’s attempts to contract out our work at the bargaining table, but we can also fight back by bringing contractors into our union and protecting industry standards. 

CAT members are gearing up into action! View a live photo gallery of actions happening recently on campuses across California. Shout out to CSUN, Pomona, Long Beach, Sonoma, and Channel Islands! The page is updated daily so check back for more action photos. 

Upcoming opportunities to engage

Print, share, and distribute this flyer promoting our bargaining actions! We have the right to post union materials in approved places, and increasing visibility of what we are up to will bring more people into our fight. Let your coworkers know that we are entering into a new period of activity!

Bargaining is here. Membership + Action = Power. As we start taking more and more actions on campus, we also need to grow our membership numbers. Join your union, or ask your coworkers to join!