Whereas, California public higher education’s share of general fund allocations declined from 18.7% in 1976 to 10% in 2024; and

Whereas, the University of California currently faces an 8% budget cut; and

Whereas, Proposition 98 provides funding for California Community Colleges but not for the University of California; and

Whereas, CFT represents 7,000 faculty and librarian members at the University of California; and

Whereas, undergraduate resident student tuition has risen more than1600% in the last 40 years, and the UC system is now more reliant on tuition revenue than comparable institutions; and

Whereas, the decline of public funding for public colleges and universities is accompanied by an increasing view of higher education as a consumer good than a public right; and

Whereas, the UC’s high reliance on tuition dollars and philanthropic donations amounts to the privatization of public education, creating pressures to cater to profit motives rather than to serve the public good;

Therefore, be it resolved, that CFT shall form a strategic action team by July 1, 2025, with the goal of recommending to the Executive Council no later than February 1, 2026, a strategic plan to win a new state revenue stream for the University of California, including a possible new wealth tax or millionaire’s tax; and

Be it finally resolved, that said strategic action team shall explore the possibility of building such a campaign in coalition with the California Faculty Association, representing academic workers in the California State University system, so that both of the 4-year segments of California’s public higher education system can benefit from stable state funding

Submitted by the Labor and Climate Justice Education Committee