Governor Newsom has signed the 2026-2027 state budget, which includes a roughly 7% increase in state funding for the CSU. Compared to the previous fiscal year, the 2026-2027 state budget includes $365.7 million in new ongoing funding for our university system.

Through our lobby day visits, phone calls, media outreach and sign-on letters, CFA members and our allies fought hard for this crucial increase, and we are grateful that the governor and the Legislature see the need to invest in the People’s University.

The funding increase includes the following:

  • An ongoing General Fund allocation of $264.8 million, which reflects the final, fifth-year payment of the governor’s multi-year compact agreement with the CSU.
  • An additional $100.9 million as well as an ongoing General Fund allocation, representing partial funding of the fourth-year compact payment as scheduled in the 2025-2026 state budget.
  • An extension for the deferral of the CSU’s one-time 3% base decrease of $144 million from 2026–27 to 2027–28. The deferral means that the CSU has an extra year to repay the loan the state gave in 2025-26.

Securing more state funding is only part of the fight to ensure the CSU fulfills its core mission of affordable, accessible, and quality education for all. We must hold the chancellor accountable and demand she spends these resources on students, workers, and our communities—not corporate interests and fund the classroom, not the boardroom!

This increase in state funding comes at a crucial point in our bargaining campaign for our next CFA collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and we’re fighting hard for better wages for our members. Our salary proposal we’re bargaining for includes:

  • Raising the faculty full-time equivalent salary to at least 10% of the chancellor’s base salary, or $79,000,
  • An annual cost of living adjustment (COLA),
  • Automatic yearly step increases, and
  • Expanding the system-wide equity program from $2 million to $10 million for compensation increases for all eligible faculty

Meanwhile, management has only offered a taxable 3% one-time bonus. We know that management can afford to pay us the compensation we deserve.

To win our salary proposal and other improvements to our working conditions, we need to ramp up our bargaining campaign. Attend bargaining town halls, read our full contract proposals, talk with your colleagues about why our proposals matter, and get in touch with your CFA chapter leaders to see how you can get more involved. Look out for future actions to participate by reading chapter communications and our unionwide CFA Headlines. If you are not yet a member, we strongly encourage you to join today.

Our fight continues. Let this state funding victory serve as a powerful reminder that when we fight together, we win together.

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