CSU management returned to the bargaining table yesterday with a weak and flimsy salary proposal and health benefits cut that is economically regressive and a bad-faith assault on the livelihoods of our lecturers, tenure-line faculty, coaches, librarians, and counselors. This comes after Governor Newsom signed a state budget that includes a $365.7 million (or 7%) increase in new funding for the CSU. After 16 months of bargaining, we are more than disappointed. We’re just plain insulted.

For these and other reasons, our CFA Bargaining Team has decided to declare impasse.

Yesterday, management presented their salary counterproposal by offering the same one-time taxable 3% bonus for 2025-26, but included a 3% General Salary Increase (GSI) for 2026-27 that would not be retroactive. No annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment + 2%. No equity increases. No Service Salary Increases (SSIs). No Post-Promotion Increases (PPIs). They want to kick the can further down the road by proposing we reopen bargaining discussions on salary for 2027-28. Additionally, they want to shift the burden of healthcare costs onto faculty and staff, and proposed convening a working group to help “explore” how this could be achieved.

The message is clear: Faculty and staff of the CSU don’t matter. However, management approved big salary increases for campus presidents and vice-chancellors in 2025—long before the state budget increase was announced by Governor Newsom.

We will not remain idle. CFA members fought hard to secure the $366 million in new funding for the CSU in 2026-27. That money must be spent on instruction and ensuring that faculty and staff are fairly compensated for their work.

We will continue to fight and organize for the contract we know faculty deserve:

  • A full-time base salary that is at least 10% of the chancellor’s base salary of $795,000
  • An annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) measured by the Consumer Price Index plus 2% in perpetuity
  • Automatic yearly step increases in the form of SSIs
  • PPIs for 2025-26 and 2027-28
  • An expansion of our systemwide equity program from $2 million to $10 million in compensation increases for all eligible faculty
  • Stronger job security and protections for lecturers
  • Reimbursements for licensure, certification, and continuing education credits for counselors, and telework options for counselors and librarians
  • Assurance that AI does not replace our roles and responsibilities as educators nor undermine our right to our intellectual property
  • The safeguarding of academic freedom by ensuring that faculty are not targeted for their speech and expressions
  • Improved and more clearly defined workloads for instructional faculty, counselors, librarians

Reaching impasse means that, after good-faith negotiations by both CFA and CSU management, CSU has failed to grasp how to retain faculty in order to move the future of education forward. The next stage in our statutory process is mediation with a state-appointed third party. If, during this stage, we still cannot reach an agreement, then we move on to factfinding. If still no settlement is reached here, then we can move to job actions—including the possibility of a strike.

We can only win the best contract if you get engaged. We encourage you to attend our Bargaining Town Hall on July 14, where we’ll discuss more of the proposals at the table and what happens next. Get involved on your Campus Action Team (CAT). Reach out to your CFA chapter president or field representative and ask them how you can help our campaign and secure a strong contract. Wear your CFA red-shirt proudly on your campus (or collect one from your field representative) and spread the word that change is coming.

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