The California State University and the California State University Employees Union have reached a tentative agreement that would guarantee union members a 7 percent raise over three years.

CSUEU is the largest staff union in the CSU system and represents roughly 15,000 CSU staff members: including therapists, gardeners and information technology consultants.

The agreement, if approved by union membership and the CSU Board of Trustees, would result in an immediate 3 percent salary increase affecting pay back to July 1, 2014, followed by a 2 percent increase on July 1, 2015, and another 2 percent raise on July 1, 2016.

Balloting of union members will conclude on Oct. 24, and the Board of Trustees is expected to take up the issue at its November meeting.

The salary increase follows a June proposal by CSU Chancellor Timothy White to set aside $21 million for employee compensation, despite the passage of the 2014-15 state budget, which raised CSU funding by $95 million less than the Board of Trustees had requested.

The Board of Trustees had asked for $237 million in additional funds and received $142 million.

“This is a way for us to begin to rebuild our compensation that was so adversely affected by the recession,” said Mike Uhlenkamp, the Director of Public Affairs at the CSU.

Uhlenkamp said pay had remained flat for the vast majority of CSU employees since 2007.

CSUEU also praised the agreement to increase compensation.

“Knowing that these raises are secure and not dependent on annual fluctuations in state funding to the CSU will allow us to focus on enforcement of the contract itself,” the union said in a written statement.

Uhlenkamp said the limited funding increase in the state budget meant the CSU had to make priorities, which included employee salaries. As a result, $90 million of the $142 million will be put toward pay increases.

The investment in staff benefits students as well, Uhlenkamp said. Staff members build relationships with students, he said, and retaining them improves the campus experience.

Kent Porter, the Associate Vice President for Human Resources at Sac State described the staff role as more “behind-the-scenes” but still important.

“Would students want to come to campus if it was dirty or poorly kept?” Porter said.

Sac State had not yet developed plans for implementing the agreement, according to Porter.

He said if the contract is ratified, Sac State and the other CSU campuses will work with the chancellor’s office to understand how the terms of the agreement apply to them.

Jack Connor, a lead custodian who has worked at Sac State for 18 years, viewed the agreement positively. He said it would help because “it’s been a long time” since his last raise.

Like Connor, several Sac State custodians have worked at the university for more than a decade, which Connor attributed to good benefits.

Other provisions of the contract include a cap on CSUEU members’ parking fees and an expansion of relatives covered under family care and bereavement or funeral leave programs.