The original concept of the Council was, and remains, an assembly of staff dedicated to improving communications between the administration and staff, and between staff at the various locations of the University of California . Its objective is to provide better service to the University by advising decision makers. The Council of University of California Staff Employee Associations, comprised of delegates from six campuses, was founded on November 26, 1974 and chartered on July 18, 1975. During its initial development, the Council reviewed issues such as staff sabbaticals, ombudsman, staff development, and counseling. In these early years, staff were not asked to advise UC administration, and did not serve on systemwide committees, although some progressive Chancellors included staff on their campus committees.

In 1977, the Chair of the Council served on two University-wide committees dealing with staff benefits. The two significant issues reviewed during this time were cross-training and career ladders. The chair of each campus staff assembly as well as members of the Council were invited to Charter Day 1978 (Charter Day has been celebrated at the UC Berkeley campus every year since 1874). During this period, the Council was asked to provide a list of names to the President's Office from which an individual was selected to serve on the Systemwide Affirmative Action Committee. President Saxon met with the Council at Berkeley during its June 1978 conference.

The next significant advance occurred in 1978-79 when the Office of the President agreed to pay travel expenses for one delegate from each campus to attend Council meetings. The Council name was changed slightly, dropping the word "employees". That year, supervisory guidelines and childcare were important issues.

The next year, Assistant Vice President Archie Kleingartner recommended that the Santa Barbara project on Quality of Worklife serve as an educational tool for managers. The President appointed one Council delegate to each of three Campus Advisory Committees: the Staff Compensation Policy Committee, the Staff Compensation Implementation Committee, and the Task Force on Implementation of Time and Effort Reporting.

The current name, "Council of University of California Staff Assemblies" (CUCSA), was adopted in 1981. During this year, the CUCSA Chair was appointed to the President's Sexual Harassment Task Force. When CUCSA met with President Saxon in 1982, he indicated it was appropriate to utilize staff in committee assignments, and that he would continue efforts in this area. During this year, comparable worth, career development and special performance awards were discussion topics. The CUCSA Chair participated in the Charter Day ceremonies. CUCSA delegates were given opportunities to serve on selection committees for Chancellors and the President. The Chair participated in welcoming ceremonies for President Peltason.

In 1993, the Chair and Vice Chair participated as the first staff invitees to an All University Long-Range Academic Planning Retreat. In addition, they were invited to present issues of concern to the newly formed Academic Planning Council. In subsequent years, the Office of the President and its liaison, Assistant Vice President Lubbe Levin, requested that staff serve on committees such as the Special Committee on University Award Programs, Violence in the Workplace and Health Care Advisory Committees, Business Officers Training Certification program development, the Work-Life and Family Issues Symposium and the Task Force on Child Care Policy and Programs.

CUCSA has had significant involvement in presenting the staff perspective on recommendations regarding management initiatives, and has addressed the Regents on such diverse topics as budget issues, student fee policies, capital programs, and domestic partner benefits.

In January 1999, a Faculty/Staff Partnership Task Force was formed jointly by the Academic Council and CUCSA. The Chair of the Academic Council and the Chair of CUCSA were co-chairs for this project, and from it came a report offering ideas to further partnerships between faculty and staff for the advancement of the mission of the University.

CUCSA welcomed the first UC Merced delegate in 2000-2001, a landmark occasion. Four critical areas were identified and task forces formed: Housing, Communication, Morale, and Training. The Housing Task Force focused on the impact of housing costs and availability, identified staff housing needs, and identified possible practices to help alleviate problems. The Morale Task Force identified existing morale enhancing programs, morale “drainers” and determining and sharing best practices systemwide. The Training Task Force recommended an increased focus on career advancement training and expanded supervisor training. The Communication Task Force emphasized the need to enhance communication between staff and administration and identified areas where CUCSA can serve a more responsible role.

2001-2002 brought special challenges. Dependent fee waiver, succession planning and equity benefits were identified as top priorities. On September 11, the world watched in disbelief as planes flew into buildings and lives were altered. Not long after, the State budget crisis became apparent. Nevertheless, a sense of community prevailed. Los Alamos National Lab hosted its first ever CUCSA meeting and delegates learned of LANL's amazing contributions to UC, California , and the world. CUCSA presented a statement to the Regents, expressing unanimous support for relative equity benefits for non-traditional families.

In 2003, CUCSA was invited to participate in the Staff Advisory Committee for the Selection of the President. CUCSA worked closely to help develop the selection criteria with The Board of Regents. During 2003, CUCSA was visited by two sitting Presidents of the University of California , a first in CUCSA history.

A standing Diversity Committee was formed by CUCSA in 2004 in order to maintain an ongoing review of the work done on diversity by the University, and to acknowledge the outstanding work of the Champions of Diversity across the system. 2004 also saw a “full table” when delegates from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were added and, for the first time, all UC locations were present at CUCSA. CUCSA was truly a systemwide association.

A huge success for all UC staff was achieved in 2005. In January of that year, The Board of Regents voted to approve a recommendation by President Dynes that staff be included at The Regents table. For the first time, staff would be members of two Regental committees – the Committee on Educational Policy and the Committee on Grounds and Buildings. This reality was something that CUCSA had worked on for over ten years.

The 2005-2006 year saw close collaboration between CUCSA's Workforce Evolution Committee and the Office of the President around issues of succession planning. The specific area that CUCSA reviewed during the year centered around knowledge transfer.

The CUCSA family lost one of its members in 2006 when the Los Alamos National Laboratory participated for the last time at the June meeting due to changes in the management contract of the Lab.

The composition of CUCSA now includes two delegates from each of the ten campuses of the University, as well as delegates from the Office of the President, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.