Union Charges CSU for Violating Labor Law

Handed a state budget with no funding cuts, CSU administrators are willfully looking at a glass of full funding and claiming it’s half empty based on technicalities.

CSUEU members have worked too long and too hard to let CSU leadership casually wiggle out of their contractual commitments. We know we have the backing of the Governor and Legislative leaders who support a salary steps system to address decades of pay inequity and below market wages. 

Salary steps were a hard-fought victory, and we will need to take collective action on multiple fronts to secure full implementation.

What Is the Issue?
The main issue is compact funding, the commitment the Governor made to provide 5% annual funding increases to the CSU from 2022-2027. The Budget Act of 2025 maintains full compact funding but will distribute this year’s 5% over two years: 2% in 2026-27 and 3% in 2028-29. It also commits an additional $252 million in one-time funding in 2027-28. 

CSUEU members’ contract specifies that salary steps placement would start in October 2025 unless the final state Budget Act 2025 does not allocate $227 million.

The budget does allocate these funds, but it spreads it out over three years. Instead of capitalizing on this creative funding solution by state leaders, CSU management is using technicalities to avoid compensating its employees fairly. 

We Are Fighting Back

• Sign the petition to demand full salary steps now.
• We filed charges with the state Public Employment Relations Board for violating labor law.
• We are calling on Legislators to ensure that the CSU follows through with its commitments to its employees. 
• Join the union and grow our political power.

CSU management has committed two missteps since the final budget passed that violate labor law - and we are taking them to the Labor Board. First, administrators erroneously notified CSUEU that due to a “reduction to ongoing CSU funding,” the union contract covering salary and benefits would need to be re-opened. Second, administrators emailed CSUEU-represented employees stating that “labor partners” are misunderstanding or mistaken in claiming there is full funding for salary steps implementation. 

We filed charges with the state Public Employment Relations Board, and ask that the agency:

• Order the CSU to transition employees to a new salary step structure, as required by our contract.
• Order the CSU to cease and desist from sending mass communications to CSUEU represented employees that deter and discourage CSUEU represented employees.

CSU Management Is Wrong
In its July 8 email to staff, CSU administrators characterize a 3% funding deferment in this year’s budget as a “reduction to ongoing CSU funding.”

What the CSU calls a $143.8 million cut is in fact a one-year funding postponement. Furthermore, the Governor and Legislature even provided the University access to a zero-interest line of credit so they could cover costs in the 2025-26 year.

In May, Gov. Newsom reiterated his administration’s commitment to funding the CSU, describing the promised 5% compact increases as “locked in. ” 

“That is sacrosanct, they will get that 5% bump,” the Governor said. “We are fully committed to fulfilling our part of the deal.” 

The Governor did his part. So did the Legislature. The CSU administration has no more excuses to delay full steps for staff.