Labor and Bargaining Updates
Labor and Bargaining Updates
UC Law SF takes pride in its ongoing commitment to working effectively with its labor unions.
Additional information on union contracts and College Policies are available to employees on Sharknet.
January 2026 Labor Update
Sent to All UC Law SF Staff from Lesley Bello, Executive Director of Human Resources
Jan. 27, 2026
Dear Staff and Faculty,
I am happy to announce that UC Law SF begins the semester having resolved labor contracts with two of its three unions. The College and AFT, which represents the College’s librarians, agreed to a new contract in August. And in December, the College signed an agreement with ULE-UAW, which represents our student workers. This is the union’s first contract.
The ULE-UAW contract increases pay for student workers and includes other measures that student negotiators sought. It also preserves critical elements of faculty and administrative leadership of the academic program and other functions.
Thank you to the student negotiators for their principled and thoughtful advocacy!
At this point, the College’s only unsettled labor contract is the contract with AFSCME. AFSCME and the College have been at impasse since September 2024.
The College presented a compensation and benefits proposal to AFSCME in April 2024. AFSCME rejected the proposal and did not submit a counteroffer. In October 2025, the College presented a second, enhanced compensation and benefits proposal, which AFSCME again rejected without providing a counteroffer.
The College remains ready to continue negotiating with AFSCME in good faith when AFSCME wishes to return to the bargaining table.
ULE-UAW Members Ratify Contract
Posted on Jan. 9, 2026
The student workers union, ULE-UAW, notified the College that they had ratified the contract on Dec. 22, 2025. The contract began on Jan. 1, 2026, and will run for three years.
College and ULE-UAW reach agreement
Posted on Dec. 17, 2025
This first agreement between UC Law SF and the student workers union, ULE-UAW, will increase stipends and wages for student workers while upholding the vital educational mission of the College. It also preserves roles that for years have benefited students by allowing academic credit to be earned while deepening student understanding of legal concepts and subject matter.
The agreement was reached earlier this month, and students are voting on ratification this week. The College has appreciated the thoughtful engagement and advocacy by the union bargaining team and broader membership. The College looks forward to continuing this constructive relationship.
UC Law SF joins the ULE-UAW Bargaining Team in supporting the agreement.
ULE-UAW’S message to its membership follows:
Dear Fellow Student Workers:
Earlier this month, the ULE-UAW, the union for UC Law SF Student Workers, and the College reached a tentative agreement on their first collective bargaining agreement, including increased pay for all Student Workers and workplace protections.
Upon ratification, the contract will run for three years starting on January 1, 2026, securing these rights for current and future Student Workers.
Please read the ULE-UAW’s update here, which also includes instructions on how to vote on the ratification of the contract. Voting is now open for all current Student Workers and will end on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. PST.
Sincerely,
ULE-UAW Bargaining Team
Update on Negotiations with AFSCME Local 3299
Sent to All UC Law SF Staff from Lesley Bello, Executive Director of Human Resources
Nov. 4, 2025
Dear UC Law SF employees:
I am writing to provide information regarding the College’s labor negotiations with AFSCME Local 3299-represented employees.
The College on Oct. 29, 2025 presented AFSCME with an enhanced compensation and benefits proposal as part of a package to settle the entire contract. AFSCME rejected the College’s offer and said that it would not make a counter-offer. (AFSCME also did not counter the College’s July 2024 compensation and benefits offer). On Oct. 30, 2025, AFSCME announced that it is taking a strike vote on Thursday, November 6.
The College’s Oct. 29, 2025, proposal includes:
- Annual salary increases of 3% (effective Jan. 2025), 4% (effective Jan. 2026), 3.5% (effective Jan. 2027), 3% (effective Jan. 2028), 3% (effective Jan. 2029).
- Increases to all non-exempt hourly wages for career and contract employees to a minimum of $25 per hour, effective 30 days after ratification. (The College proposed this increase in July 2024.)
- Monthly health care premium credits of $125 for employees in Pay Band 1 (under $73K annual fulltime salary equivalent) and $100 for employees in Pay Band 2 ($73,001 to $145,000 annual fulltime salary equivalent) for the Kaiser HMO (Kaiser Permanente) or UC Blue & Gold HMO (Health Net) plans. Employees whose credit exceeds the UC-specified monthly contribution would pay nothing. This structure mirrors what UC has now implemented for its AFSCME members.
The College’s new offer follows the neutral factfinding report issued on Sept. 26, 2025. That report recommended either “offering higher wages paired with increased health care contributions” by AFSCME members or “providing a smaller wage increase with no change to health care costs.”
The College is ready to continue negotiating with AFSCME in good faith if AFSCME wishes to return to the bargaining table. More information is available here.
Sincerely,
Lesley
Information on Factfinding Report and Recommendations
Posted on Oct. 9, 2025
As shared on Oct. 1, 2024, AFSCME and the College’s negotiations over a new contract have been at impasse since September 2024. In July 2025, the parties engaged in a factfinding process before a neutral factfinder selected by the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
The full factfinding report produced as part of the impasse process is included here.
The College remains committed to continuing to bargain in good faith toward a positive outcome for our workers and the school.
Information on the College’s offers and positions and recommendations from the report include:
Increases in the wage minimum and annual increases
The College and AFSCME agree on a proposal for a $25 minimum wage or 5% increase, whichever is greater, for all employees covered by the contract.
The College proposed 3% annual increases over the life of the contract. AFSCME proposed a 5% across the board increase retroactive to July 2024, plus annual increases of 7.5% to 8% retroactive to January 1, 2025, plus annual step increases of 3% within each pay band.
While the report did not find the College’s proposal sufficient, it also said that AFSCME’s wage proposal “is not a viable option.” The neutral factfinder explained:
The College likely lacks the financial capacity to provide the 8% and 7.5% wage increases sought during factfinding. Rising operating expenses, coupled with limited reserves, make it unsustainable to absorb increases of this magnitude.
The College made the most recent wage proposal on July 8, 2024, and hopes AFSCME will make a counter-proposal in light of the report findings.
Keeping health care premiums low
Since 2017, the College has fully absorbed health premium increases for the Kaiser and Blue & Gold plans for employees covered by the AFSCME contract – even as premiums have increased. For example, in 2017, the College paid nearly $600 per month for each employee enrolled in an individual Kaiser health plan. Today, that cost has risen to more than $800 per employee per month.
AFSCME requests that premium costs remain frozen. The College states it would agree to continue the freeze if AFSCME accepts the College’s proposed wage package. Otherwise, the College has proposed increasing AFSCME members’ out-of-pocket health care costs by $20 per month annually.
The College’s position is that there must be a trade-off between the level of AFSCME wage increases and the responsibility of members to bear some of the increasing costs of healthcare coverage.
Similarly, the neutral factfinder recommended either “offering higher wages paired with increased health care contributions” or “providing a smaller wage increase with no change to health care costs.”
Automatic promotions to managerial and supervisory positions
Current contract language provides that an AFSCME member can automatically promote into a vacant managerial or supervisory position so long as they meet the job’s minimum qualifications and received at least a satisfactory rating on their last evaluation. The College proposed ending such automatic promotions, asserting that management should have discretion in determining which candidate is best suited for an open managerial or supervisory position. AFSCME proposed keeping the current language.
The neutral chair agreed that automatic promotions are not appropriate for supervisory and managerial positions:
I recognize the College’s concern that supervisory and managerial positions require more than an automatic promotion following a pro forma interview based primarily on seniority. These positions carry significant responsibility and demand leadership, decision-making, and strategic skills that extend beyond satisfactory job performance in a bargaining unit role. The current contract language, while supportive of career advancement, does not fully account for the unique competencies required to succeed in supervisory and managerial positions.
Human Resources Oct. 1, 2024, Message to Employees
Dear UC Law SF employees:
We write with an update on the College’s labor negotiations with AFSCME Local 3299-represented employees.
Since April 2024, the College has met with bargaining representatives from AFSCME Local 3299 eight times, offering over 30 proposals and counterproposals, including regular wage increases, expanded sick and vacation accrual provisions, and limits on health insurance premiums.
Our wage proposals, introduced in May and again presented as part of a comprehensive economic package in July, include increasing the minimum wage for AFSCME employees to
$25/hour and providing 3% annual wage increases, while also guaranteeing equity between AFSCME and policy-covered staff. While all public employers, including the College, face a difficult budget cycle, our wage package is designed to ensure we continue to dedicate resources to our employees.
Our healthcare proposal, part of the same package, would subsidize AFSCME member health plan premiums to freeze them at the levels that have been in place since the last contract was signed – despite substantial, continuing increases charged by the insurers.
At our last bargaining session on September 27, AFSCME indicated that it would not be responding to our comprehensive economic package, and the parties agreed to declare impasse. This means that negotiations will be referred to a mediator selected by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
We are committed to continuing our bargaining in good faith. We believe that we have made a fair offer, guaranteeing regular annual raises, enhanced leave, and expanded job protections. We are hopeful that mediation will result in a new contract that reflects our support for our employees.
Sincerely,
Human Resources