Grad workers at LSU are students working toward their master’s or doctoral degree, and are also officially employed by LSU as research and teaching assistants. Grad workers power the intellectual and research enterprise of Louisiana, and many are recipients of nationally and internationally competitive awards. LSU touts these grad worker-acquired accomplishments as examples of its “flagship” nature. Each year, LSU breaks attendance records, yet fails to pay a living wage to their grad workers who make LSU’s accomplishments a possibility.

Recently, United Campus Workers won their campaign to ensure that all grad workers pursuing a doctoral degree at LSU will receive the pay increase they were promised - a minimum stipend of $23,000.

However, the fight is not over!

Master’s students are not included in the pay increase to $23,000, but they are grad workers too! The average stipend amount for grad workers at the master’s level is too low - with some earning as little as $10,000 annually. Some master’s programs are not funded at all. Master’s students do not get charged less than doctoral students for rent or food, so they should not get paid less either.

In addition to the fight for a fair wage, United Campus Workers is also continuing the fight for healthcare at LSU, who acted in bad faith with the new health insurance plan offered to grad workers.

First, over the summer United Campus Workers discovered that grad workers on fellowships were left out of the new health insurance plan, despite being employed full-time by LSU. Since then, LSU has not clearly communicated whether all fellows will be offered the new health insurance plan. Second, LSU’s new health insurance plan only covers the individual grad workers: spouses and children of grad workers are ineligible. Since LSU has no plans to increase pay for grad workers at the master’s level, they cannot afford the only healthcare plan available. These grad workers will be left to either purchase a lower-quality plan outside of LSU - or to carry no health insurance at all. All grad workers at LSU should receive the same opportunities for healthcare. Finally, LSU still has not provided exact details of the coverage provided under the new healthcare plan - which LSU made its graduate workers pay for up front in August. Since LSU required graduate workers to pay for health insurance, graduate workers have a right to know from LSU what they are being offered in return: when and where they can go to the doctor, and how much they should budget for.

We, the undersigned, urge LSU to act in good faith and honor its promises of higher wages and affordable health care for ALL grad workers - and their dependents. We also urge LSU to render services for payment made - specifically, providing exact coverage details under the new healthcare plan.