Graduate workers at UML play a pivotal role in upholding the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s mission of excellence in teaching and research. They are heavily rent burdened, receive an unlivable wage, and often forgo dental and vision care due to its high cost. Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), representing all graduate teaching assistants and research assistants at University of Massachusetts Lowell, is seeking improvements to graduate workers' working conditions that will support their ability to engage in quality teaching and research for the university.

Below are the results of the bargaining survey that GEO conducted in 2022 to find out the experiences of graduate workers after they won their contract in 2021:

Graduate workers at University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) are heavily rent burdened and receive an unlivable wage. The living wage in Middlesex county is $26, 703 dollars for a 9-month contract, given only the minimum values for cost of living. The median 9-month stipend of graduate workers at UML is $19,118 dollars, which is $7,585 dollars less than the cost of living. Whereas only one-third of an individual’s income is supposed to go toward rent, graduate workers on average spend 54% (median 51%) of their stipend on rent, which classifies them as severely rent burdened. The total inflation rate from February 2021 to February 2023 is 14.38%. The Consumer Price Index has grown by 14% in the last 2 years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rise in inflation and consumer price eliminates the cost-of-living wage adjustment that GEO worked toward at our previous bargaining in 2021.

The struggle for living wage has become a national and global struggle across universities. Graduate students’ stipends are below the cost of living in the United States, and the gap has widened due to increasing inflation, according to a study conducted by PhD students at Clemson University in South Carolina (Nature, 2022). A recently published article by Nature (2022) states that there are only a few examples of PhD programs, globally, that pay a living stipend.

Graduate workers at UML have had to forgo dental and vision care due to its high cost. They reported that the health insurance premium coverage and the dental insurance premium coverage provided by the university are not affordable.

Currently, the university provides 80% health insurance premium coverage. However, 59% graduate workers reported that the remaining 20% out-of-pocket cost of the health insurance premium is not affordable.

Currently, the university provides 40% dental insurance premium coverage. However, 49% graduate workers are not enrolled in a dental insurance plan. 93% of them find the remaining 60% out-of-pocket cost of the dental insurance premium not affordable. 57% graduate workers have had to forgo dental care since starting graduate school.

70% graduate workers are not enrolled in a vision insurance plan. 39% graduate workers have had to forgo vision care since starting graduate school.

The following quotes by graduate workers at UML, collected from the bargaining survey, reveal the severity of the lived struggles of graduate workers.

“It was challenging when I started but now with the increase in costs in absolutely everything it is becoming harder and harder every month. My rent increased by 20% since I started school and my heating costs are expected to increase just as much this winter.”

“Graduate rate should be higher because rent + utilities take almost 70% of stipends. It is becoming really harder to cover all other cost other than rent.”

“Students are undermining the health because they can't afford the co-pay. How can a person afford everything with this small stipend including bills, rents and medical care. It's a lot to take care of for a single graduate student.”

“Financial stress is the main stressor and is unavoidable. This burden takes away from my work and may keep me from finishing my PhD.”

“The TA/RA stipend does not cover the cost of living in Massachusetts and has forced me to incur debt to cover my basic costs of living during the PhD program.”

“I spend so much of my salary on rent and normal living expenses that I am basically living check to check and do not have any leftover to save.”

“I've had the same broken glasses, partially repaired with duct tape, for years.”

“I haven’t been to an eye doctor in many years because I am not insured.”

“I couldn’t get oral surgery I needed because I didn’t have insurance.”

After reviewing the results of our bargaining survey that was sent to membership and conducting individual conversations with graduate workers across the university, we have put together our bargaining goals for the new contract and presented them to the university:

Stipend increases each year toward a livable wage.

Increase of individual health insurance premium coverage from 80% to 100% and addition of 100% family coverage.

Increase of dental insurance premium coverage from 40% to 100% and addition of 100% family coverage.

Addition of vision insurance premium coverage at 100% & family coverage at 100%.
Inclusion of graduate fellows into GEO bargaining unit.

Inclusion of union representation for summer employment contracts.

Addition of paid and unpaid leaves.

Establishment of emergency fund / transitional or bridge funding.

Inclusion of enhanced anti-discrimination language.

We the undersigned demand that the university agree to meet GEO's bargaining goals to better support graduate workers and improve their working conditions.