Tentative Agreement Summary

Tentative Agreement Highlights

Groundbreaking Protections for International Workers 

• New $400,000 legal consultation fund to support any international worker facing immigration concerns, including legal advice on status change, detention, visa questions, and referral to reduced-cost immigration attorneys

• Non-collaboration with ICE: UC will notify all workers when ICE is on campus and will not release workers’ immigration status or personal information without a judicial warrant

• Guaranteed rehiring rights for workers who temporarily lose their visa status and gain it back

• Best immigration leave for higher ed workers in the nation: up to 3 weeks of paid leave for travel for visa renewals or immigration relief

Wages

• All salaried employees on one, unified scale by 2029: Current TAs and GSRs will see raises between 12.41% and 44.96% over 4 years with general adjustments and experience-based increases. Reduced disparities between the highest and lowest paid workers.

• Campus tiers ended by 2029: eliminated “General”/“Special” wage disparities for TAs, ensuring equal pay for equal work

• All hourly workers immediately moved to a unified statewide scale with raises from 10-62% over the life of the contract over the life of the contract

• $14.5M in backpay for GSRs whose pay steps were unilaterally lowered by UC

• UC cannot lower pay steps during the lifetime of the contract

Job Security

• When a PhD or MFA student is offered a TA appointment, it must be at 50% unless they have another salaried appointment that totals to 50%

• Protected our right to 50% appointments for GSRs

Support for Working Parents

• 46% increase to childcare reimbursements: an immediate 35% increase in 2026, and with yearly amounts increasing by $200 each subsequent year

• Nearly all child dependents of working parents have access to premium-free healthcare: dependent healthcare remission for children of parents whose combined incomes do not exceed twice the Medi-Cal eligibility threshold

Fee Remission

• Protected remission of all campus fees, defeating management’s attempts to unilaterally impose new fees without remitting costs

Leaves & PTO

• Industry-best immigration leave: up to 3 weeks of paid leave for travel for visa renewals or immigration relief

• Rollover of PTO: GSRs can now roll over PTO between appointments and accumulate up to 18 days of PTO

• Expanded paid leave for reproductive loss, bereavement, crime-related judicial proceedings, and immigration. For the first time, workers can also take paid leave if they or a family member experiences sexual assault, stalking or other forms of violence. 

• Ensured that workers at LBNL have an equal number of holidays as workers at other campuses

Retirement

• UC must instruct workers how to select alternative retirement funds such as funds free from weapons manufacturers or fossil fuel companies

Fairer and Faster Contract Enforcement

• Faster resolution for workplace issues through neutral third-party arbitration: streamlined the arbitration process and at least six pre-scheduled arbitration dates per year

Protections Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Abuse 

• Expanded protections against abusive conduct and discrimination, including first ever explicit protections against caste discrimination at UC

• Immediate interim measures with faster timelines to resolution to protect survivors upon filing reports of abuse

Disability Accommodations

• No requirement for medical diagnoses to seek an accommodation.

• Immediate workplace adjustments during the accommodation process.

Classifications

• Clear job descriptions for all jobs so that all workers have recourse if asked to perform work beyond the scope of their title

• Rights for formerly misclassified STEM fellows: every STEM fellow who performs a service for the University will be appointed as a GSR guaranteeing full protections, raises, and benefits.

Transitional Position Program

• Permanently expanded the transitional position program: funding guarantees for workers seeking to switch labs due to a breakdown in the PI-employee relationship. 

• 42% increase in the amount of transitional funding allocated: up to 10 positions per year per campus, with additional funding available

No Strikes

• All workers can follow their conscience and refuse to cross a picket line

Duration

• Strategic contract expiration on December 31st, 2029: bargaining for our next contract will not be under the Trump administration and ending the precedent of Summer expirations in the last three contracts

• Open bargaining is guaranteed for the next round of bargaining

Transportation

• Access to free/reduced fee transit subsidies; held back management’s attempts to roll back existing transit benefits

Discipline & Dismissal 

• Sunsetting of discipline Workers gain the ability to remove written warnings and counseling memos from their employment files after 2 years

Workload and Class Sizes 

• Maintained overwork protections for TAs, ensuring that TAs cannot be asked to exceed workload limits due to increased class sizes

• Two Joint Labor-Management Meetings per year to discuss increases to class sizes

Union Rights

• Protected our practice of paid union orientations at the department and campus level.

• UC management will not discourage departments from cooperating with our Union to ensure all workers learn of their rights in the workplace