U of California Grad Students Strike

[Wahoo Redux]

IHE: Disruptions Ahead

Lower Deck:

Some 48,000 graduate student workers, postdocs and researchers across the U of California are striking for a major pay increase. The pressure is on.

Four bargaining units representing 48,000 graduate teaching and research assistants, readers, tutors, postdoctoral scholars, and academic researchers across all 10 University of California campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory went on indefinite strike Monday—accusing the university of unfair labor practice violations and of generally negotiating new contracts with them in bad faith.

Campus administrations have urged instructional continuity during the strike, but it's unclear to what extent that will be possible, given the scale of the labor action and the apparent support for it. Some 98 percent of participating union members approved the strike in an authorization vote, suggesting that participation will be high.

[marshwiggle]

From the article:

The unions' core demands include a $54,000 annual salary minimum for all graduate workers, a $70,000 annual salary minimum for postdocs, a 14 percent salary increase for academic researchers and annual cost-of-living adjustments. At present, minimum graduate worker pay is less than $24,000 and minimum postdoc pay is about $56,000. UAW members say that these adjustments address a worsening housing affordability crisis: according to union survey data, 92 percent of graduate student workers and 61 percent of postdocs are "rent burdened," meaning that they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income, the federal affordability threshold, on housing.

If I'm reading this correctly, "graduate workers" seems to just mean graduate students. If that's the case a $54000 minimum salary seems steep, if their tuition is already covered.

Average Starting Salary for College Graduates

The average salary in 2022 for college graduates is $55,260, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey.

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

[dismalist]

The framework of American unionization is somewhat different from the rest of the world's, which countries differ among themselves.

Suppose the strikers win. What makes anyone think that State funding will expand to keep the same number of graduate students?

This is an opportunity for universities located in other States to expand, while offering lower wages than California.

Competition is still allowed between State labor arrangements. That won't change.

[mythbuster]

I have questions about their claim that Grad students are making $24k per year. I was a grad student at a UC, and back in 2003 my stipend (in a Biomedical science program) was $20k per year. It actually increased over $7,000 during my time at the school. So I have difficulty believing that $24k is a common stipend. The lowest that they found? Likely. But my guess is that most of science and engineering grad students make a bit more.

My prediction is that the UC will use this as a mechanism for building much more grad student on campus housing. That was Stanford's response when the article came out about the med student who lived out of his car several years back.

[apl68]

From the article:

The unions' core demands include a $54,000 annual salary minimum for all graduate workers, a $70,000 annual salary minimum for postdocs, a 14 percent salary increase for academic researchers and annual cost-of-living adjustments. At present, minimum graduate worker pay is less than $24,000 and minimum postdoc pay is about $56,000. UAW members say that these adjustments address a worsening housing affordability crisis: according to union survey data, 92 percent of graduate student workers and 61 percent of postdocs are "rent burdened," meaning that they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income, the federal affordability threshold, on housing.

If I'm reading this correctly, "graduate workers" seems to just mean graduate students. If that's the case a $54000 minimum salary seems steep, if their tuition is already covered.

Average Starting Salary for College Graduates

The average salary in 2022 for college graduates is $55,260, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey.

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

I could never imagine making that kind of money, with two MA's (one earned for my present profession) and decades of experience, including 18 years as head of our library.  However, I gather from what I've read regarding costs of living in California that $54,000 there spends about like full-time at Federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) would in most flyover states, so perhaps their demands aren't so unreasonable.  Our state minimum is $11 per hour, BTW.

[marshwiggle]

From the article:

The unions' core demands include a $54,000 annual salary minimum for all graduate workers, a $70,000 annual salary minimum for postdocs, a 14 percent salary increase for academic researchers and annual cost-of-living adjustments. At present, minimum graduate worker pay is less than $24,000 and minimum postdoc pay is about $56,000. UAW members say that these adjustments address a worsening housing affordability crisis: according to union survey data, 92 percent of graduate student workers and 61 percent of postdocs are "rent burdened," meaning that they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income, the federal affordability threshold, on housing.

If I'm reading this correctly, "graduate workers" seems to just mean graduate students. If that's the case a $54000 minimum salary seems steep, if their tuition is already covered.

Average Starting Salary for College Graduates

The average salary in 2022 for college graduates is $55,260, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey.

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

I could never imagine making that kind of money, with two MA's (one earned for my present profession) and decades of experience, including 18 years as head of our library.  However, I gather from what I've read regarding costs of living in California that $54,000 there spends about like full-time at Federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) would in most flyover states, so perhaps their demands aren't so unreasonable.  Our state minimum is $11 per hour, BTW.

$54000 works out to over $1000 per week, which for a 40 hour week is over $25 an hour. This is for students, who are studying part of the time and TAing, etc. as well. Should they be paid $25 an hour for their studying time??? They're not close to "working" (i.e. producing for an employer) for nearly 40 hours a week. As grad students, it's more like 10 to 20 hours per week.

[mamselle]

The TA component is some settings is nearly a full-time job (it's not supposed to be, but it can be.)

And, if the school expects housing and food to come out of the (some don't do grad housing) it may be necessary.

M.

[Parasaurolophus]

I'd have thought it was obvious, but $54k is the opening bid in a salary negotiation. They don't think they'll get it, but if you don't ask for the sky, who's going to give you a hill of beans?

[marshwiggle]

I'd have thought it was obvious, but $54k is the opening bid in a salary negotiation. They don't think they'll get it, but if you don't ask for the sky, who's going to give you a hill of beans?

This is the argument that's always made, but I haven't seen any evidence that making a ridiculous opening proposal is more useful than making a reasonable one. I hate all those sorts of negotiations because of how much of it is theatre; it's for the media, not for the negotiating table. It also amplifies the differences between the two sides at the outset, rather than starting with something at the limit of what is realistically achievable, so there's still room for movement. Acting like grownups rather than two-year-olds would be a refreshing change (on both sides).

[Wahoo Redux]

From the article:

The unions' core demands include a $54,000 annual salary minimum for all graduate workers, a $70,000 annual salary minimum for postdocs, a 14 percent salary increase for academic researchers and annual cost-of-living adjustments. At present, minimum graduate worker pay is less than $24,000 and minimum postdoc pay is about $56,000. UAW members say that these adjustments address a worsening housing affordability crisis: according to union survey data, 92 percent of graduate student workers and 61 percent of postdocs are "rent burdened," meaning that they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income, the federal affordability threshold, on housing.

If I'm reading this correctly, "graduate workers" seems to just mean graduate students. If that's the case a $54000 minimum salary seems steep, if their tuition is already covered.

Average Starting Salary for College Graduates

The average salary in 2022 for college graduates is $55,260, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey.

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

This is California.  The cost of living is much higher than anyplace else except for perhaps New York city.

[Hibush]

The numbers being thrown around in a lot of the coverage are hard to parse since they are bits and pieces that are not necessarily connected.

One important working condition that can be negotiated in a contract is work hours to a teaching assistantship. I don't know what it is at UC, but I hope they put a good one togther. I find ours to be fair and flexible. It specifies an average of 15h per week over the semester with a weekly max of 20h. That way there can be heavy weeks grading exams, and followed by a light week. If they can agree to someting like that, it makes the dollare negotiations clearer in addition to making TA supervisors have a limit on what they can ask TAs to do.

One thing that is really clear from years of reporting is that UC stipends are not competitive with peer schools or with schools in the same housing market. If they tap the gauge to make the needle move to the real position, the schools will be in a better place. Faculty will have to budget more for graduate research assistants, but so do their  peers at other schools. There will be disruption to get the money to cover the core-paid lines like TA's. That will be a battle with the legislators, at least. Will they march on Sacramento?

[marshwiggle]

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

This is California.  The cost of living is much higher than anyplace else except for perhaps New York city.

That also applies to their peers who are working, and to the salaries they are likely to receive after graduation.
Maybe California should just give everyone in the state a raise. The only trick is figuring out how to pay for it......

[apl68]

From the article:

The unions' core demands include a $54,000 annual salary minimum for all graduate workers, a $70,000 annual salary minimum for postdocs, a 14 percent salary increase for academic researchers and annual cost-of-living adjustments. At present, minimum graduate worker pay is less than $24,000 and minimum postdoc pay is about $56,000. UAW members say that these adjustments address a worsening housing affordability crisis: according to union survey data, 92 percent of graduate student workers and 61 percent of postdocs are "rent burdened," meaning that they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income, the federal affordability threshold, on housing.

If I'm reading this correctly, "graduate workers" seems to just mean graduate students. If that's the case a $54000 minimum salary seems steep, if their tuition is already covered.

Average Starting Salary for College Graduates

The average salary in 2022 for college graduates is $55,260, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey.

To say graduate students should have a minimum (i.e., for all disciplines) salary that is basically the average (i.e. reflecting a large variation between disciplines) of graduates is a bit of a reach. That would likely mean that some people would make more as grad students than their peers who started employment instead of going to grad school. (It would also imply that when they're done they may need to take a pay cut when they get a job.)

I could never imagine making that kind of money, with two MA's (one earned for my present profession) and decades of experience, including 18 years as head of our library.  However, I gather from what I've read regarding costs of living in California that $54,000 there spends about like full-time at Federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) would in most flyover states, so perhaps their demands aren't so unreasonable.  Our state minimum is $11 per hour, BTW.

$54000 works out to over $1000 per week, which for a 40 hour week is over $25 an hour. This is for students, who are studying part of the time and TAing, etc. as well. Should they be paid $25 an hour for their studying time??? They're not close to "working" (i.e. producing for an employer) for nearly 40 hours a week. As grad students, it's more like 10 to 20 hours per week.

Like I said, $25 an hour in California seems to have about the purchasing power of a third of that in other states, so it might not be so exorbitant as it seems in context.  Especially, as Para notes, if it's meant to be a leader for haggling.  Whether the university can find that kind of money is another question.

[mamselle]

In many lab/STEM fields, it would just get absorbed into grant requests.

M.

[marshwiggle]

Like I said, $25 an hour in California seems to have about the purchasing power of a third of that in other states, so it might not be so exorbitant as it seems in context.  Especially, as Para notes, if it's meant to be a leader for haggling.  Whether the university can find that kind of money is another question.

Just like the mice deciding who would put the bell on the cat was another question.