California State University (CSU) faculty reached a tentative deal the day they began a historic strike on January 22.

“The collective action of so many lecturers, professors, counselors, librarians, and coaches over these last eight months forced CSU management to take our demands seriously,” said Charles Toombs, president of the California Faculty Association (CFA), in a news release. “This Tentative Agreement makes major gains for all faculty at the CSU.”

According to the union, the tentative agreement includes a 5 per cent general salary increase for all faculty, retroactive to July 1 of last year. The deal will also see workers’ salaries increase again in July this year, a pay bump for the lowest-paid faculty, and an increase in parental leave from six to 10 weeks.

After months of failed talks to increase their pay and improve other benefits, academic staff and other workers began the strike across 23 campuses.

The strike, a first for America’s largest, four-year public university system, came two weeks after the university’s administration ended contract negotiations.