As many of you know, CalArts has been in collective bargaining negotiations with CU-UAW representing the three separate units of (1) Regular and Technical Faculty, (2) Special Faculty, and (3) Staff. We’d like to provide you with a community-wide update on the status of negotiations. As a reminder, all updates are posted to https://informed.calarts.edu/updates/.
CalArts and CU-UAW began consolidated bargaining on Oct. 1, 2025, and since then have met for more than 15 sessions of bargaining, with each session scheduled for about three hours each. This meeting schedule was agreed to by both parties. “Consolidated bargaining” involves those topics that both parties agree would be appropriate to address with the three separate units—Regular and Technical Faculty, Special Faculty, and Staff—all together (e.g., union security, health and safety, personnel records, union-management committee, nondiscrimination, etc.).
The parties have made good progress in consolidated bargaining, reaching tentative agreements on about eight (8) articles, with more forthcoming. The parties are now prepared to bargain with the separate units as to matters specific to those units, such as faculty appointment and reappointment, special faculty contracts, etc., and then return to consolidated bargaining when topics affect all units.
CalArts proposed meeting with the separate teams on a rotating basis weekly; one day meeting with the Regular & Technical and Special Faculty unit, and on the following week meeting with Staff. Once the parties have exchanged initial proposals related to each unit, and have offered at least one counter to each proposal, CalArts is willing to meet more frequently to allow for more informed discussions.
At the March 25, 2026, bargaining session, CU-UAW, for the first time, asserted that CalArts was delaying negotiations—but the bargaining record does not support the CU-UAW’s assertion. Linked here you will find the parties’ negotiating history (through March 11, 2026).
CalArts has attended every bargaining session the parties agreed to (with a small number having to be rescheduled due to unanticipated events and has been negotiating in good faith the entire time.
CalArts has also responded to every proposal it could from CU-UAW. The only proposals CalArts has not yet responded to are (1) Release Time (the amount of time an employer will allow an employee to do union duties), which was never an agreed-upon subject of consolidated bargaining and must be negotiated separately as times will differ for each unit; and (2) Open Enrollment, Health Benefits, and Retirement, which are all economic proposals (proposals that have a direct financial cost). For economic proposals, CalArts has consistently asked CU-UAW to provide all of its economic proposals at once so CalArts can conduct a comprehensive financial analysis—a standard and common practice in bargaining.
By contrast, CU-UAW has not yet responded to four proposals from CalArts that were provided on Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, 2025.
It was not until the last bargaining session, on March 25, 2026, that CU-UAW gave CalArts 15 new proposed articles at once on topics that are most consequential to the separate contracts (e.g. appointments and reappointments, compensation, discipline and discharge, etc.). At the same time, CU-UAW asserted that it now desires for bargaining of all three contracts to be completed by the end of May 2026.
CalArts is concerned that this change of tone and accelerated timeline may not allow sufficient time for the parties to reach thoughtful agreements on the most complex and important topics. CalArts’ position is that it wants to move forward following consolidated bargaining to reach agreements on the three contracts as soon as reasonably possible, but it does not control the pace of the union’s work on its proposals, the union’s responses to CalArts’ proposals, or other factors necessary for parties to work together to efficiently reach agreement. Typically, bargaining for a first contract takes a year to 18 months. CU-UAW’s expectation of finishing bargaining on three separate contracts in eight months (total) would leave less than two months for bargaining on the separate unit contracts after spending approximately six months in consolidated bargaining.
From the outset, CalArts has encouraged CU-UAW to prioritize proposals on the topics of greatest importance to employees. Some proposals have involved complex or uncommon requests that require significant time to evaluate and negotiate. For example, at the first session of bargaining on Oct. 1, 2025, CU-UAW presented a Parking and Transit proposal that included, installation of solar canopies, electric charging stations, fully subsidized transportation passes, and payment for bicycles and bicycle maintenance. While CalArts has engaged with this proposal in good faith, the uniqueness of proposals like this one illustrates why the bargaining process takes time.
A first contract for each of the units is a priority, and CalArts is eager to reach agreement. But at the same time, CalArts believes it is important to take the time necessary to reach well-considered collective bargaining agreements, especially first contracts, that holistically address key issues and serve the long-term interests of the CalArts community.