End in Sight for UC Academic Workers’ Strike
Graduate Student Researchers, Academic Student Employees Reach Tentative Deal
It is the beginning of the end for the University of California academic workers’ strike. After a month of protests, rallies, and back-and-forth negotiations, all four union bargaining units representing 48,000 UC student employees have reached agreements with the university.
Now, all that’s left is for graduate student researchers and academic student employees — including teaching assistants, tutors, and readers — to ratify their new contract agreements, which were announced on December 16.
“I’m really happy with the contract, and I hope it’s ratified,” said Joe Costello, a graduate student researcher in UCSB’s Physics Department and a rank-and-file union member. “I think it’s a significant win, especially for student researchers. People in my position will be making $50k a year in October 2024. This doesn’t eliminate the rent burden or solve every problem that we as graduate students at Santa Barbara have, but it does represent a significant step forward, with really unprecedented raises and protections against bullying.”
