We call on Chancellor Donde Plowman to:

1. Raise ALL graduate assistantship base stipends to a minimum of $30,000/year, regardless of contract length.

2. Implement guaranteed annual cost of living adjustments for graduate student stipends.

3. Secure comprehensive health insurance coverage (e.g., continuation of coverage during family and medical leave).

Graduate Assistants and Associates are fighting to survive UT Knoxville!

On 8/31/2023, Chancellor Donde Plowman announced that graduate stipends will be increased for graduate workers. This victory could not have been possible without the pressure from you and your coworkers! However, a recent survey conducted by United Campus Workers reveals many UTK grad workers are still fighting to survive.

The average graduate worker at UTK is still severely rent burdened, spending 51% of their gross income on rent ($1,487/month on average in Knoxville). More than 55% of all graduate workers surveyed are not being paid the minimum required to survive according to UTK’s own Center for Global Engagement. MIT's living wage calculator estimates it costs a single adult living in Knoxville $32,387/year to meet their basic needs — a staggering 67% above the current full-time stipend minimum of $19,401/year.

Graduate workers also face inequities in their work contracts. Workers on 9-month contracts (commonly given to teaching assistants) are paid significantly lower stipends — by $6,467/yr — than other workers. Yet many workers on 9-month contracts are required to continue research and writing during their unpaid summer terms. Many graduate workers, especially international students, are legally prevented from working second jobs to make up these gaps in their pay. This system exists to justify unlivable wages, and it must be ended by providing a single livable stipend minimum to all.

Furthermore, graduate workers receive inadequate healthcare coverage. When graduate workers need to take medical or family leave, they lose their current stipend and healthcare coverage. This is unacceptable, and forces graduate workers to choose between their families, their health, and their work. Graduate workers deserve to have continued and comprehensive access to healthcare.

Graduate workers deserve basic rights and the ability to survive. We are demanding a stipend minimum of $30,000/year and comprehensive healthcare for all graduate workers.