UIC Graduate Student Workers Strike Over Pay and Health Coverage
UIC graduate student workers went on strike after months of stalled contract talks over wages and health coverage, with union members earning $24,000 annually while private universities in the area pay graduate workers nearly double that amount.
Roughly 2,290 graduate student workers at the University of Illinois Chicago went on strike after months of stalled contract talks.
The Graduate Employees Organization union said the key sticking point is wages. Most workers earn $24,000 a year for nine months with no guaranteed summer employment.
Workers teach classes and conduct research. They make a minimum of $24,200 for a nine-month contract with no guaranteed summer employment.
Union members say they can't afford to live on these wages.
"I've been unable to pay my car insurance," said Alex Hagan, one of 2,000 striking workers at a rally on campus.
Hagan said he knows many students have struggled to pay rent or have been forced to leave their housing.
Some workers hold signs that read "We can't research if we can't pay rent" and "UIC works because we do."
Classes continue while the union strikes. The university said it will minimize disruption to instruction.
The union's latest wage proposal is $38,000 for a nine-month contract.
UIC has offered a 2 percent raise in the first year of the contract.
A union spokesperson said the university insists that demand is completely ridiculous and completely unaffordable.
Private colleges in the area pay graduate workers nearly double that.
Northwestern University's salary floor is $45,000 per year.
The University of Chicago pays graduate workers a minimum of $47,741 per year.
Union members say their wages should be comparable to those schools.
They said they're in the same geographic area.
UIC is a public university, but it's also a top research institution.
Most union members can't get another job to supplement their income.
Their schedules are filled between teaching or research and their own classes.
The union had backed off of its initial demand for $60,000.
That figure would have offered workers a living wage according to calculations by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
UIC graduate workers use CampusCare for health insurance.
The program only provides care through the UI Health system.
It has dozens of medical centers in the Chicago area, but they're mostly on the South Side.
Organizers said the premiums are too high for subpar coverage with location limitations.
They want lower premiums and more comprehensive plans.
The plans should cover gender-affirming care, reproductive care and immunizations.
Workers also want the university to protect international student workers.
During Operation Midway Blitz last fall, federal immigration agents detained thousands of people in the Chicago area.
Some detentions occurred near UIC.
Organizers want the university to expand access to immigration know-your-rights training.
They also want the university to boost legal and financial aid for international workers.
Grad workers pushed for a guarantee that their labor won't be replaced by AI programs.
Labor unions within and outside higher education have grappled with how to negotiate the role of AI in their workplaces.
Many unions have pushed for guardrails against using AI to do certain kinds of work.
Some examples include conducting performance reviews.
The union and administrators have met for 29 bargaining sessions in the last year.
Two more negotiating sessions were scheduled.
Six negotiating sessions involved a federal mediator.
Federal mediators typically facilitate bargaining and try to avoid work stoppages.
UIC graduate workers value the program called CampusCare for health insurance.
Administrators are confident they can reach an agreement.
The university said it remains committed to good-faith bargaining.
The goal is to provide a fair contract to graduate assistants.
The university also wants to remain fiscally responsible to the university at large.