[Faculty] February ASE/GSR Bargaining Update

[UCR Provost]

*On behalf of the UC System Provost and Executive Vice President Katherine
S. Newman I am transmitting the attached letter and email below.*


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Dear Colleagues,

Please find attached my monthly bargaining letter, which addresses the
ongoing negotiations between the University and the United Auto Workers
(UAW) for the unified Academic Student Employees (ASE – TAs, AIs, Fellows,
Readers, and Tutors) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) bargaining
units.


I want to acknowledge at the outset that these negotiations raise real and
significant concerns for faculty, departments, and campuses, particularly
where graduate student compensation is funded through external grants with
fixed budgets and regulatory constraints.


For quick reference, the key highlights below summarize the major outcomes
from last week’s bargaining sessions and outline what to expect as
negotiations continue:



   - *The parties agreed to a brief contract extension through February 28,
   2026:*


   - *Reached a one-month contract extension through February 28, 2026,
      which means the No Strikes articles are in effect through the end of
      February.*


*Achieved two tentative agreements on ASE Workload and Holidays, bringing
the total number of tentative agreements to 22.*

   - *We received the UAW’s*
*Wages Counterproposal: *


   - The UAW’s latest wages proposal includes bringing salaried ASE and GSR
      pay scales closer together without fully aligning them (their
last proposal
      had them fully aligned). Reduces average annual increases by
approximately
      one percentage point from their initial proposal (from *10% to 9% for
      GSRs* and from *7% to 6% for ASEs*).
      - Includes a *$1,500 annual lump-sum payment for Group 2 Teaching
      Assistants.*
      - Requests that the consumer cost index cost-of-living adjustment be
      provided as a lump sum rather than added to base wages.
      - Maintains the unified pay scale for hourly ASEs.
      - Continues the provision guaranteeing income for hourly employees
      regardless of hours worked.
      - Maintains the recognition of experience across all titles, whether
      performing research or teaching, which would accelerate
progression through
      experience-based pay levels.
      - These proposals reflect the union’s priorities and do not represent
      the University's agreement or acceptance. Each element is being carefully
      evaluated for fiscal sustainability and overall impact.



   -
*The University’s Approach and Going Forward: *


   - The University continues to work toward an agreement that balances
      students’ academic and employment roles while preserving management and
      academic rights.
      - Active faculty participation on the bargaining team has provided
      valuable insight and helped inform the development of proposals
advanced at
      the table.
      - We continue to plan responsibly for instructional and research
      continuity while also recognizing the real impacts that any disruption
      would have on faculty, students, and research activity.


Continue to work together to support instructional and research continuity
should a strike occur. The University remains fully engaged in the
bargaining process and continues to work toward a mutually agreeable
contract with the UAW.

Best wishes,



Katherine S. Newman
UC System Provost and
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Public
Policy
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