CSU workers rally at San Francisco State over pay and job security

More than 100 California State University Employees Union members gathered at San Francisco State University on June 16, turning a campus bargaining session into a public test of whether new state dollars are reaching the people who keep the CSU running. At stake for San Francisco State students and workers is not just a contract deadline, but whether staffing shortages, class cuts and daily service disruptions deepen at one of the city’s largest public employers.

CSUEU, which says it represents more than 36,000 staff and student assistants across the CSU’s 22 campuses, said members rallied directly outside negotiations as the staff contract heads toward its June 30, 2026 expiration. The union said CSU management did not respond to its economic proposal from the prior week, and warned that it is prepared to strike if it does not secure a deal it wants.

The dispute has sharpened because CSU received a record $264.8 million in new ongoing funding in this year’s state budget, money the union says workers have yet to see in their paychecks. CSU Board of Trustees budget materials for Jan. 26-28 show that the 2026-27 operating budget plan included that compact funding increase as part of roughly $509.5 million in additional ongoing funding, with compensation and other baseline commitments listed among the planned uses.

For San Francisco State, the fight lands in a place where budget pressure is already visible. The campus enrolled 20,713 students in fall 2025, making staffing decisions felt across advising, administrative support, classroom operations and student services. Workers say hiring freezes, unfilled vacancies, class consolidations and layoffs have continued even as Sacramento has added money to the system.

The campus dispute also sits inside a longer period of austerity. In January 2025, CSU said Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget included a $375 million cut to the system, equal to 7.95 percent. CSU later said the May Revision reduced that proposed cut to about $144 million, easing but not eliminating budget pressure across the 22-campus system.

Late-2024 and 2025 campus reporting documented layoffs and class cuts at San Francisco State, adding weight to the union’s argument that new funding has not yet translated into stability on the ground. At SFSU, the result is a fight with direct consequences for San Francisco County: whether students see fuller classrooms, steadier operations and more reliable support, or whether the campus keeps absorbing the strain through vacancies, reduced services and another round of labor conflict.