After more than a year of negotiations, UC offers last, best and final offer to AFSCME

On April 30, the University of California announced that it has offered its employees, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, a comprehensive and competitive last, best and final offer (LBFO) that meets their original demand of $25 an hour and a 5% wage increase. The two parties have been negotiating a new contract since January 2024.

“Despite the challenging fiscal environment created by recent federal and state budget constraints, we remain committed to fairly compensating our dedicated workforce,” said Associate Vice President for Systemwide Labor and Employee Relations Missy Matella. “This offer represents our ongoing investment in our most valuable resource—our people—while we continue to navigate budget realities.”

UC’s April 30 press release and bargaining update provide details of the offer. Highlights include:

• $25/hour minimum wage by July 2025 

• Annual across-the-board wage increases of 5% in 2025, 4% in 2026, and 3% in 2027, 2028, and 2029, with each year building upon prior increases (19.3% total increases over the contract term)
• 2% annual step increases for eligible employees for years 2-5 (which, along with increases above, result in total wage increases of 29% over the contract term)
• $0 health care premiums for many employees 

“In a time of potentially catastrophic state and federal funding cuts, we have increased our last best and final offer to support UC’s workforce,” Matella added. “We hope to finalize this agreement and collaboratively address other important matters, like the reduction of federal and state support.”