Bargaining Update #13: unfair practices persist, ASEs voting to authorize ULP strike
On Monday and Tuesday, Academic Student Employees (ASEs) met with UC management for the first bargaining sessions of 2026. At these sessions, management made their first economic proposals, including on wages. Management’s wages proposal fails to keep pace with inflation and continues arbitrary pay disparities between cohorts, campuses, and job titles. Management claims they can’t afford anything more, but they have so far failed to sufficiently respond to ASEs’ requests for information that would show how much our wages cost. On the other hand, management did make their first proposal on international workers’ rights in 2 months which included a $250,000 legal consultation fund for immigration issues.
However, they have still not resolved their numerous unfair labor practices that are impeding ASEs’ ability to reach a full and fair agreement. On February 5th to 13th, ASEs will be voting to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice strike to demand management stop breaking the law and bargain in good faith towards a fair contract. Commit to vote YES on February 5th, and make a plan today to talk with your coworkers about voting YES with you at the link below.
Bargaining Update
Management presented their first economic package, proposing:
A ~1% annual raise every year for Teaching Assistants and Associate Instructors;
A ~1.6-5% annual raises for GSRs;
and 3% increases for readers and tutors.
Over four years, this proposal would bring the GSR and TA scales closer together, and reduce inequities for GSRs by eliminating step 1, but it includes effective pay cuts for the majority of ASEs and does not fully eliminate inequities between cohorts, campuses, or job titles. Their proposal also asserts a right to reduce the pay steps of incoming PhD students, even after an arbitrator ruled that they cannot under our current contract. UC also proposed nearly no improvements over the status quo on many issues, including:
Parking & Transit;
Healthcare;
Retirement;
Leaves;
Childcare;
and NRST Remission.
ASE's caucus during bargaining in Pico.
ASEs did, however, see some major progress at the table this week. After a supermajority petition delivered in October followed by mass rallies last November, management has finally taken up ASEs’ proposal to put money in a fund for international ASEs’ legal support. Their proposal commits $250,000 that can be used for legal consultation around immigration issues through an expansion of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center.
Both sides also discussed outstanding issues regarding ASE and GSR Workload, Appointment Notifications, Union Access, Training and Orientation, and Summer Sessions. Both sides made movement towards one another, but remain apart on important priorities for ASEs that will ensure quality research and education through established class size policies and workload protections for researchers. You can see all of the proposals passed here.
ULP Strike Authorization Vote
Many of the proposals discussed -- including Appointment Security and ASE Workload -- are ones where management has committed Unfair Labor Practices by unilaterally imposing new policies rather than bargain in good faith over issues. Management is also breaking the law by refusing to provide critical information that allows us to bargain on equal footing, and by insisting on “piecemeal” bargaining over individual department policy changes. You can see all of the ULP charges filed here. This is why ASEs are voting from February 5th to February 13th in a Strike Authorization Vote over these ULPs. To force management to follow the law, bargain in good faith, and allow us to reach a fair agreement, it will take every ASE voting to authorize a ULP strike.