CSU Declares Impasse Instead of Bargaining in Good Faith

Teamsters—

After CSU’s failure to make a salary proposal in our last meeting, our Teamsters 2010 Bargaining Team finally received a slightly improved salary offer from the CSU during negotiations Oct. 26. CSU proposed a 2% lump sum meant to combine with the 3% lump sum they had previously proposed in lieu of the July 2025 contractual raises that CSU unilaterally and illegally withheld, for a total 5% lump sum. This lump sum would be conditioned on our union withdrawing our challenges to their refusal to pay the base-building July 2025 raises.

CSU’s proposal made little movement on the salary structure adjustment (SSA) for the current fiscal year from 0.8% to 1%. In total, the CSU’s proposal was for a 5% lump sum instead of our July 2025 raises, 4.2% in raises for 2026/27, 3.8% in raises for 2027/28, and a salary/benefits reopener for 2028/29. CSU stated that their proposal was intended to offer a similar economic package to what some other CSU unions have recently tentatively agreed to. Our team won some needed and significant movement from the CSU on several stipends, allowances, and other ancillary pay items that we have been demanding since our first salary proposal.

However, CSU’s proposals continue to include a variety of takeaways and poison pills that are completely unjustifiable. On salary, their proposal continues to include implementing the 2026/27 raises after ratification instead of retroactive to July 1, 2026; conditioning step progression on satisfactory performance evaluations, and eliminating existing in-range progression (IRP) and emergency pay language. On benefits, CSU maintained their prior proposal that would eliminate our health premium supplements and impose an additional charge on top of any future premium increases.

Our team, as we have throughout this process, rejected these takeaways and poison pill proposals. We made a counter proposal with appropriate movement while continuing to demand full, retroactive payment of our July 2025 raises, higher SSAs to reflect the growth in the cost of living, annual step increases not conditioned on performance evaluations, and no takeaways on emergency pay, the IRP procedure, or benefits.

Rather than responding to our salary and benefits proposal or the more than a dozen open articles that it was CSU’s turn to respond to, CSU has chosen to declare impasse in yet another attempt to sidestep its obligation to bargain in good faith. Throughout this bargaining process, CSU has demonstrated a lack of respect for our essential work and has committed numerous unfair labor practice charges. Of the more than a dozen open articles, CSU has refused to make any movement at all on several, including critical articles like Article 22 – Hours of Work, and Article 23 – Overtime. This is not an employer bargaining in good faith to reach a fair agreement. This is an employer trying to impose its will on its workforce. We will not stand for this and we will continue to fight back.

Teamsters Local 2010 and California Faculty Association (CFA) will join together — along with support from the CSU Employees Union (CSUEU), APC and UAW, who have tentatively agreed to new contracts with CSU — for a coordinated action during the November Board of Trustees meeting. Teamsters 2010 members throughout California are invited to participate. Click the button below to register.

Join Union Coalition at the Board of Trustees Meeting

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Contact your Union Rep or Steward for travel arrangements.

As for what happens next, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will determine whether we are at impasse. If PERB rejects the CSU’s impasse request, they will have to return to the bargaining table. If PERB grants their request, the parties will move to the statutory mediation and fact-finding processes. In mediation, a neutral, third-party attempts to convince the parties to reach an agreement but has no power to force either side to move off their positions. If mediation fails, the parties move to fact-finding, where another third party hears both sides’ positions and issues a report recommending a resolution to the dispute that again cannot require either side to implement the recommendations.

The impasse process has no power to force a resolution or make the CSU bargain in good faith. In fact, if the impasse procedure is exhausted, the CSU could move to impose its proposals on us, including their various takeaways. In 2024, the impasse procedure failed to get the CSU to bargain in good faith but our strike actions, particularly the threat of an impending strike with the California Faculty Association (CFA) during the first week of spring classes, finally got CSU to the table to reach an agreement. The power that we have as Teamsters taking collective action is what will ultimately force CSU off their outrageous proposals.

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CSU’s Lowball Salary Proposal

2025/26

• Refuse to pay July 2025 contractual raises
• 5% lump sum instead of prior contract’s base-building July 2025 raises (up from 3% lump sum)

Current Year (2026/27):

• Total average 4.2% wage increase, including:
• 1% SSA
• All remaining Unit 6 to Target Step (1.3% overall cost)
• One 2% Step Progression, dependent on performance evaluation (1.9% overall cost since those at top of range wouldn’t receive step)
• Increases effective following ratification, meaning the longer it takes to reach a fair deal, the more money we lose.

2027/28:

• Total ~3.8% average wage increase, including:
• 2% SSA
• One 2% Step Progression, dependent on performance evaluation (1.8% overall since those at top of range wouldn’t receive step)
• Effective July 2027

2028/29:

• Reopener, no guaranteed raises