Staff Bargaining Recap | September 2, 2026
The CSUEU Bargaining Team delivered a proposal to CSU on Sept. 2 designed to put money in members' pockets now and move bargaining toward a fair contract.
We're in our fifth month of negotiations, and members are feeling the impact of higher housing, gas and grocery costs. Our latest package proposal calls for meaningful raises, full implementation of salary steps and automatic step advancement.
Our proposal demands:
- 7% salary increase for Year 1
- 5% salary increase for Year 2
- Full implementation of steps retroactive to July 1, 2026 — putting real money in the pockets of 5,000 affected members
- Automatic step advancement
Keep the pressure on CSU.
Ask questions at our Bargaining Zoom Town Hall on Friday, Sept. 4 at 12 pm and learn how every member can help build union power on every campus this month.
“We’re in our fifth month of negotiations, and we know members need money NOW to pay for higher housing, gas and grocery costs. Our Bargaining Team put forward a package of demands today to get this contract settled ASAP.”
Jessica Dalton
Vice President for Representation
CSU will evaluate our proposal and we expect to make progress on our next negotiating sessions, Sept. 9 (at Chancellor’s Office) and Sept. 18 (at CSU Long Beach).
All members are welcome to join our Contact Action Team (CAT) for actions at bargaining and on your campus to continue to hold CSU accountable to our demands.
We know management felt the heat these past weeks seeing us getting strike-ready, organizing disruptions at convocations, and wearing CSUEU blue across the state.
“We need to keep the pressure on CSU and make sure they hear us loud and clear: Our members deserve fair wages and a fair contract. Every time we show up, speak out, and stand together, we're building the power it will take to win. We've come too far to let up now.”
April Dunham-Filson
CAT Coordinator, Stanislaus
What's in Our Sept. 2 Package Proposal
CSUEU submitted the following package proposal with the intention of resolving all remaining issues between the parties.
| Issue | CSUEU Proposal |
|---|---|
| Steps Implementation | Full implementation of steps effective July 1, 2026. |
| 2025-26 Bonus | A 3% bonus ($31 million). Employees who would have moved more than one step if the contingency had been triggered would receive an amount equal to their cumulative increase in pay from Oct. 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The remainder and interest would be distributed to remaining staff as equal-dollar signing bonuses based on FTE, at $500 per full-time employee. |
| Year 1 Raise | 7% SSA effective July 1, 2026, with a 7% GSI for employees not on steps and a 7% bonus for Red Circle employees. |
| Year 2 Raise | 5% SSA effective July 1, 2027, with a 5% GSI for employees not on steps and a 5% bonus for Red Circle employees. |
| Contract Term | Contract expiration June 30, 2028. |
| Market Study | Begin a market study of classifications on Jan. 1, 2027, in time for adjustments to be implemented July 1, 2027. The study would include Athletic Trainers, Laborers, Gardening Series, Performing Arts Tech Series, Technology Support Series, Heavy Equipment Operators, PAs and NPs, and other classifications. |
| Automatic Step Movement | Step movement would be automatic until the parties agree on a common performance evaluation. If no agreement is reached by April 15, 2027, either party could submit the parties' final offers to “baseball arbitration.” |
| CSUEU Concessions | Withdraw the ULP, accept CSU's parental leave proposal and drop all other economic proposals. |
| CSU Concessions | Accept CSUEU's Article 9 Temp proposal, AI proposal, Shared Services proposal, parking proposal of $2 per month per year, and Union CTO proposal. |
| Existing Agreements | Both parties accept each other's status quo list, and all tentative agreements (TAs) are maintained. |
