The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, or UC-AFT, secured a one-year contract extension that includes a 4% pay raise with the University of California during two days of bargaining July 15-16.

According to Kat Lewin, co-chief negotiator for UC-AFT’s bargaining team, UC-AFT — the union representing teaching faculty and librarians — began negotiations with UC on the current contract in February 2026 and both sides have presented a multitude of proposals within the eight bargaining sessions since.

But bargaining is still in its initial stages, according to Lewin. Both UC-AFT and UC have passed a handful of proposals on the 43 current articles in the contract.

UC-AFT has further proposed articles on topics including job security, academic freedom and technology use, which Lewin called “ambitious.”

“So far, UC has not responded to any of those articles,” Lewin said in an email.

“We need serious improvements when it comes to receiving fair compensation, demanding fair workloads, and standing strong against the growing threat of AI and other educational technologies being used to gut our jobs and undermine the quality of education,” Lewin said in an email.

According to Lewin, progress on those fronts will take time, even with extensive bargaining efforts. The one-year contract extension will give UC-AFT the security to negotiate properly with UC, and the salary increase will ensure member salaries adjust with inflation during the bargaining process.

Although UC-AFT does not intend an economic strike at the moment, it will reevaluate the situation next year in June, when its contract expires.

“So if things go poorly over the next year, we still may reach an impasse and have to prepare for an economic strike,” said UC-AFT Vice President for Legislation Trevor Griffey. “For the most part, the members we represent don’t want to go on strike except as a last resort.”

One roadblock UC-AFT has faced is in the UC Office of the President’s alleged opposition toward open-Zoom bargaining, which would allow most of its members to participate in and observe the negotiations process through Zoom calls. While UC-AFT would like an observer cap of 475 people, UCOP has not agreed, citing concerns about involving extra parties in negotiations.

“I don’t personally believe that the University of California’s position has been about improving the quality of negotiations,” Griffey said. “I think it’s been about limiting participation, access and knowledge about what’s happening at the bargaining table, and that’s just not how our union would like to operate.”

According to UCOP spokesperson Heather Hansen, there are still a number of issues to work through in order to reach a mutual agreement.

“The University of California welcomes the one-year contract extension reached with UC-AFT, which extends the current agreement through June 30, 2027, and provides a 4% salary adjustment for covered UC-AFT-represented lecturers,” Hansen said in an email. “The extension gives lecturers and students stability while we continue working toward a longer-term agreement.”

The parties are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Aug. 27, according to Hansen.