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After a year of bargaining, many proposed contracts and a strike authorization vote, the Stanford Graduate Workers Union and Stanford University came to a tentative agreement on a three-year contract, averting a strike that was planned for Wednesday, Nov. 13.
The strike was originally planned to commence on Tuesday, but the union’s bargaining committee opted to postpone the strike to the next day after significant progress was made on contract on the evening of Nov. 11. The two parties reached a tentative agreement at 10 p.m. on the 12th, thereby averting a strike.
“This tentative agreement came through the dedicated efforts of both bargaining teams and many long hours of discussion at the negotiating table,” Stanford wrote in a statement on its website following the close of negotiations. “We thank the members of both bargaining committees for their efforts in reaching this agreement.”
The union’s bargaining committee attributes the successful negotiation to the pressure of an impending strike.
“We saw significant movement on major issues after thousands of graduate workers stood with each other in solidarity and were prepared to strike,” the committee wrote in an email to its membership.
Approximately 90% of the union’s membership had voted to authorize a strike after negotiations stalled with the university due to differences on wage increases and what the union said were insufficient benefits and insufficient protections against discrimination for graduate workers, among other things.
The union will now put the contract to a vote for ratification by the union’s membership. In a letter to union members, the bargaining committee wrote that it “unanimously and strongly (endorses) a vote of yes to accept this contract.”
“It contains many important victories,” the committee wrote. “With three years to consolidate our position, build our power and prepare for the next round of bargaining, the fight is only just beginning.”
In its previous offer, Stanford proposed increasing pay rates for research assistants, course assistants and teaching assistants by 4.5% in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second year and 3.5% in the third year, as well as increasing the minimum wage by 6.5%. At the time, the union said that this was “not nearly enough” to keep up with inflation and high rent in the Bay Area.
The contract that the university and the union have tentatively agreed upon proposes, on average, a 4.75% increase starting in fall of 2024. If the contract is ratified, the university’s minimum stipend for graduate workers would be set at $54,052 immediately, and then raised to $56,348 starting in fall 2025 and raised to $58,460 in fall 2026.
Previously, the union had expressed concern that university housing prices could outstrip the rent increases set in the contract, but Stanford has now published planned rents for the next two years, and has agreed that during the duration of the contract, graduate workers’ wages will increase at the same or higher rate as university housing costs.
Stanford also gave the union a written letter, signed by the university provost, that guarantees five-year funding for Ph.D students if they are meeting academic requirements and guarantees a process to remedy any academic issues through meetings with the university.
The university also agreed to ensure that students have job security in their teaching positions. If a teaching assistant or research assistant position is canceled by the university after it has been offered and accepted, the university must make “reasonable efforts” to reassign the graduate worker to a comparable position. If no comparable position is available, the university must pay the graduate worker as if they were employed in the position until a new position is available.
Stanford also agreed to provide a one-time $1,200 payment to all incoming international Ph.D workers to help cover visa fees. Another benefit that was agreed upon by the two parties is the provision of a Caltrain GoPass (unlimited train pass) to all graduate students who reside outside of the Palo Alto and Stanford ZIP codes. Stanford guarantees that this program will last for the duration of the contract unless Caltrain eliminates the discounted student rate that currently exists.
Other agreements include enhanced discrimination protections, enhanced health benefits, the creation of a union agency shop and grievance process, guarantees for an inclusive work environment and enhanced support for international students.
Despite the wins on wages and other benefits, the union’s bargaining committee says they still have a ways to go, but did not want negotiations to end in a protracted strike.
“As with all first contracts, we did not get everything we wanted,” wrote the bargaining committee to union membership. “We strongly believe we deserve a higher wage than Stanford was willing to agree to, but we also believe that this is the best overall economic package we can secure without a potentially bitter and protracted strike.”
The union, which gained recognition in July of 2023, had been negotiating with the university for its first contract since November 2023. SGWU represents approximately 5,000 graduate student workers.
