New for 2025 negotiations

Negotiations this year will have two features very different from previous ones. 

1. Dues-paying members can watch the negotiations live as observers. 

2. Dues-paying members also can participate in the negotiating room by acting as resource experts or story tellers to illustrate the need for contract changes.

Why be an observer?

Your presence is critical in showing that CSU-AAUP members are united in solving workplace problems that benefit all our faculty, students, and institutions. We held our ground to make these negotiations the most transparent in CSU-AAUP history. 

​We are all fighting together this year to win a strong contract with workload protections, sick and family leave, stability for part-time faculty members, and everything else we need to provide the best possible education for our students.

To win, we all will have to come together and put pressure on CSCU management by virtually attending bargaining sessions. Come and see firsthand how they respond to our vision for the CSUs' future.

How do I become an observer?

To be an observer, you must be a dues-paying member of CSU-AAUP. If you never signed up to be a dues-payer, or if you don't know if you are one, fill out this form​. If you've already signed up, you won't be charged twice.

You must pre-register with CSU-AAUP to watch our sessions live by filling out this form​. Staff will check that you are a dues-paying member. You will receive the webinar link to the email you provide in the form. Do NOT share the link – it is only for registered, dues-paying members.

What will be the observer experience?

Our negotiating sessions will take place virtually as a Zoom or MSTeams Webinar.  When you enter the waiting room of the meeting, staff will check that you are on the list of registered observers before you are admitted. Staff will not admit anyone who displays only a phone number and/or has no name displayed.

As in any Webinar, participants who are not on the panel will be muted and your picture will not be visible. Observers will not be able to intervene in the negotiations or communicate with either negotiating team. When the negotiating teams take a caucus, they will go into separate break-out rooms that observers will not be able to join. The chat feature also will be disabled. 

Will we be able to talk to other members during negotiations?

Yes. We will provide a Discord channel for observers to communicate with one another, which we will share with you once you are registered as an observer.

What are the rules for observers?

As per our ground rules negotiated with CSCU management, observers (just like negotiating team members) are not permitted to make any video or audio recordings of the proceedings and are not permitted to communicate directly with the public or media at any time about what you observed in negotiations. However, you are permitted to discuss anything that happened in the negotiations with other dues-paying members of CSU-AAUP, both during and after the sessions.

While you observe, keep in mind the bargaining team has been surveying members, as well as meeting and discussing our proposals with Council and one another for over a year now. You can read about our platform and priorities for the contract here. 

As an observer, you may only be hearing one small part, without context, of a much longer discussion. Try not to jump to conclusions without learning the entire background to the discussion. Your negotiating team is happy to discuss your questions and/or concerns with you. Please email [WHO?].

Please be aware that as per our ground rules, we are required to share the list of names of observers with the CSCU bargaining team.

What is a resource expert/storyteller?

It is important that the CSCU management negotiating team know that the problems CSU-AAUP is trying to solve with new contract language are widely felt and have an adverse impact on the working conditions of our members. The best way to do this is for our members themselves to use their expertise to discuss various problems or tell stories of the impact of those problems on their ability to provide excellent education for our students.  

These resource members are permitted to participate directly in negotiations if they are designated by CSU-AAUP and the CSCU team is informed one week in advance of a session. These members are subject to the same ground rules as the negotiating team and observers.

When we have an agenda of topics that will be discussed we will reach out to various members, but if you have a particular issue you would like to speak about, please let us know by emailing Madeline at communications@csuaaup.org 

I have more questions.

If you have any questions about observing or negotiations, please contact Madeline at communications@csuaaup.org