UW grad students get 36% raise as academic unions gain traction

Tahiyat Rahman, a Ph.D. student researcher in the UW physics department who has been attending the University of Washington for nearly six years, says the academic student employees’ contract is not perfect, but provides something to look forward to.

“I am so excited to finally get an eye exam after putting it off for six years despite working in a laser lab,” Rahman said in a statement. Rahman is a bargaining team member of United Auto Workers Local 4121, which represents the UW academic student employees. “These are great wins, but this also isn’t the contract that we all needed.”

Last month, the UAW 4121 and the UW agreed on a contract that included a significant pay increase for 6,000 academic student employees, graduate students who teach classes, conduct research and do other significant work at the university. The contract settlement followed a one-day strike that impacted academic operations at the UW, including class cancellations, tenured professors acting as substitutes, and the rescheduling or canceling of exams.

The UW strike reflects both nationwide trends in higher institution employment and a surge in union bargaining power on university campuses, said Moon-Ho Jung, professor of history at the UW and chair of the UW Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

https://crosscut.com/news/2024/06/uw-grad-students-get-36-raise-academic-unions-gain-traction