Bargaining Updates
Your elected Bargaining Committee is hard at work negotiating for a strong first contract! See our bargaining updates:
2024-11-22:
SGWU Contract Ratified - Details and Next Steps
Contract ratified with 86% voting in favor. Help us build our union! Details coming soon on how to join the constitutional committee and interim grievance committee.
Dear Members of SGWU,
We write this morning to announce that the vote on the Tentative Agreement with Stanford has closed and our contract has been ratified with a vote of 1482 in favor and 250 against.This contract was years in the making, building on the efforts of graduate workers who organized and advocated long before the union card campaign began in 2023. Today’s ratification marks the culmination of over a year of bargaining, and marks a historic victory for all of the graduate workers of Stanford University. We are part of a movement that is actively transforming higher education by raising the standards of academic workplaces.
With the contract now ratified, it is our collective responsibility to ensure the enforcement of our contract and put the governance structures in place to establish a strong union that can continue to improve our working conditions and win more victories in the years to come.
Our next step is to establish a Constitutional Committee and an Interim Grievance Committee. The Constitutional Committee is a group of elected rank-and-file union members who will be responsible for drafting the constitution that will govern our local. The interim grievance committee will consist of our existing elected leadership alongside volunteers who will serve as stewards and support colleagues who pursue grievances before formal union leadership is elected and departmental stewards are established.
Details regarding the constitutional committee elections and interim grievance committee will follow in the weeks to come. We invite all members interested in getting involved with these and other roles as we build our union to get in touch and to join our slack through this link.
The victories we have won are a direct result of our collective struggles these past years: our conversations with our colleagues, our voices raised at rallies and in the press, and the countless hours all organizers have spent creating a rank-and-file union that will advocate for all Stanford grad workers. This work will continue, but for now have a restful and restorative Thanksgiving break!
2024-11-13:
Our Contract Recommendation
Dear graduate workers,
On Tuesday, November 12, at 10 pm the Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU) Bargaining Committee (BC) reached a tentative agreement (TA) on a complete contract with Stanford University administration. We saw significant movement on major issues after thousands of graduate workers stood with each other in solidarity and were prepared to strike. We now bring this TA to our membership for a contract vote. We will be sending more information about ratification later today. We are unanimously recommending ratification (YES) of this TA to the membership.
We have seen sufficient movement on a number of key issues since Friday, November 8 that has warranted bringing Stanford’s current offer to a membership vote. Last week, Stanford broke off bargaining, claiming that they were unable to offer more financial support to graduate workers than an effective raise of 3.38%, because they refused to make the raise effective starting Fall 2024. After a large outpouring of membership support, Stanford agreed to return to the table this week and increased the raise most graduate workers will receive to 4.75% starting Fall 2024, with a range from 4.5-6.78% depending on current salary, setting the minimum stipend for all graduate workers at $54,052 annually. This minimum stipend starting Fall 2025 will be $56,348 and $58,460 by Fall 2026. All rates above the minimum will increase by at least 4% and 3.5% in the later 2 years of the contract. Furthermore, Stanford has now, for the first time ever, published rents for the following two years and ensured that during the duration of the contract our wages will increase by the same or higher percentage than on-campus rents. This is a first for any higher education contract in the United States. We also won the strongest nondiscrimination clauses in private higher education (covering discrimination, harassment, and power abuse); a 5-year funding guarantee the union can hold Stanford accountable to; and financial support for international graduate workers and workers with dependents.
We won groundbreaking improvements on harassment and discrimination protections, including ensuring protections against abusive conduct by supervisors. In all cases of discrimination, harassment, or power abuse, Stanford is now required to allow a union representative to accompany any graduate worker to any investigatory interviews (previously, except when required by federal law, the investigating administrators would be the only ones in the room). For the first time in the nation, graduate workers in Title IX proceedings can request that the Title IX Coordinator or their designee meet with union representatives to figure out more effective supportive measures. These gains give us a very strong non-discrimination article to address long-standing issues on campus. We have also gotten Stanford to write a letter confirming the endowed and thus protected nature of the Weiland Health Initiative, which is especially important given the current political environment.
We also achieved a major victory by obtaining a written agreement via a letter signed by the Provost that allows the union to hold Stanford accountable for their PhD 5-year funding guarantee. For the first time, Stanford has published details of the funding guarantee and publicly states their commitment that no PhD student can have their funding cut off from failure to secure grants or fellowships. Notably, this agreement also allows any PhD student to request a meeting with Stanford to ensure that they either get the funding promised to them or take steps to remedy any academic issues. In either case, our union can assist the student through the process and ensure that Stanford keeps its word. Stanford’s promise of guaranteed funding has often gone unfulfilled, so we are encouraged to see Stanford finally commit to this letter. This agreement applies to all graduate workers, including fellows.
Along with wins in wages and protections, we won other benefits that improve financial security and quality of life for graduate workers at Stanford. Stanford agreed to give the Caltrain GoPass back to graduate students who commute from outside of campus. This program is guaranteed to last for the entire duration of the contract rather than a 2-year pilot program they could cancel if the price changed (their previous offer). This is a significant financial benefit that will save some graduate workers over $2000 per year.
Stanford agreed to give all international PhD workers, including fellows, a one-time lump sum of $1200 to cover visa and other government fees and costs associated with maintaining their legal status. This will apply to current and all future PhD students. Furthermore, Stanford’s Emergency Grant-In-Aid program (which covers all students, including fellows) will cover costs associated with vision, dental, and treatment of chronic medical conditions and mental health conditions. Additionally, Stanford agreed to increase the claim limit from $2500 to $4000 on the Graduate Student Aid fund and the income cap on the family grant to provide additional support for graduate workers with dependents from $125,000 to $150,000.
As with all first contracts, we did not get everything we wanted. 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, given their strong reticence on wages. Stanford refused to provide fellows contractual access to the same protections that other graduate workers have through the union grievance process, despite our every effort to secure equal protections for fellows. The reality is that fellows inclusion is legally ambiguous terrain that Stanford dug its heels into. Other UE locals are making impressive post-contract gains for fellows through organizing. So we will continue these fights until they are won. We invite all of you to join us and organize towards these goals.
We have had countless conversations with graduate workers and SGWU organizers, in order to gauge the membership’s willingness to strike for more. In light of these conversations, we unanimously believe that this settlement represents the best deal that our bargaining committee can recommend without a potentially protracted strike. Ultimately, it is up to each of you to make your own decision on the contract. If the members choose to vote the proposed contract down, then the Bargaining Committee is prepared to lead the strike that we will be mandated to take on.
We believe this package realizes transformative gains that will fundamentally improve the conditions of our workplace. We have secured tentative agreements on all of our open issues, including one of the strongest nondiscrimination articles in any graduate worker contract in the nation; a funding guarantee that Stanford can finally be held accountable for; a flexible and well improved leave policy; benefits for international workers; raises that match or outpace rent for the next three years; and significant expansion in aid programs. Equally important, we believe that this settlement provides a sound foundation for building our union so that we can win everything graduate workers are due in the future. All of this was made possible by the immense outpouring of support, community, and solidarity over the last one (1) year and eight (8) days since our first bargaining session with Stanford.
We will provide more details on ratification logistics later today.
Your Bargaining Committee unanimously and strongly endorses a vote of yes to accept this contract. It contains many important victories. With three years to consolidate our position, build our power, and prepare for the next round of bargaining, the fight is only just beginning. An online version of this document can be found here.
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee
Martín Acosta Parra (he/him) Chemistry
Jason Anderson (he/him) Aeronautics and Astronautics
Jason Beckman (any) East Asian Languages and Cultures
Thom Chaffee (he/him) Geophysics
Fletcher Chapin (he/him) Civil and Environmental Engineering
Emma Cuddy (she/her) Materials Science and Engineering
Nora Enright (she/any) Bioengineering
Chris Gustin (he/him) Applied Physics
Nadine Humphrey (she/they) Chemical Engineering
Sheen Kim (any) Law
Paul Markley (he/him) Biology
Shantanu Nevrekar (he/him) Anthropology
Parth Nobel (he/him) Electrical Engineering
Rory O’Dwyer (he/him) Physics
Suyash Raj (he/him) Stem Cell Biology
Alexa Russo (she/her) Anthropology
Kamila Thompson (she/her) Electrical Engineering
Sophie Jean Walton (she/her) Biophysics
Sofia Di Toro Wyetzner (she/her) Computer Science
David Kai Zhang (he/him) ICME
TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS
| Article | Summary |
|---|---|
| Overall Tentative Agreement | Stipulates that all the contract’s articles will only go into effect if ratified by the union membership |
| 1 Agreement | This article states the date of the agreement (to be filled in after ratification) and names Stanford University and our union (UE and SGWU–UE Local 1043) as parties to the agreement. |
| 2 Recognition | In this article, Stanford recognizes the union and its ability to negotiate a contract on behalf of all bargaining unit members. The categories of appointments within the unit are defined. This includes all Ph.D., Master’s (excluding MBA) and J.D. students, including Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, and Course Assistant, and students on fellowship who provide instructional services.The article also outlines positions which are excluded from the bargaining unit. This includes all students on fellowships not providing instructional services, MBA, DMA, JSD, MD, and undergraduate students [including undergraduates who are coterminously enrolled in graduate program]. |
| 3 Union Security | This article creates an agency shop, establishing that all members of the bargaining unit are required to contribute to the collective bargaining and enforcement of the contract. Graduate workers in the bargaining unit must either join the union and pay union dues—which confers the right to participate as a voting member of the union—or instead pay agency fees. It also allows for union dues to be automatically deducted from one’s paycheck and defines how dues are sent to the local. Agency fees will be set when the membership creates our constitution and cannot exceed union dues. |
| 4 Union Rights and Access | The union will elect officers and/or stewards who will be allowed to carry out union business without workplace penalties. The union may book meeting spaces, use Stanford email and bulletin boards, and have time at Stanford-wide and departmental orientations. |
| 5 University Rights | Stanford must give thirty (30) days notice to the union about any policy changes related to work policy and conduct. This article also lays out certain management rights retained by Stanford. |
| 6 Bargaining Unit Information | The union receives contact information (email, etc.) for incoming and current graduate workers to communicate with them on relevant topics. Graduate workers are able to view their own employment records. The Union agrees to not use this information for any purpose other than internal union administration and communication. |
| 7 Grievance Procedure | The grievance procedure outlines a process through which graduate workers can file complaints through the union about a grievance, which is defined as a violation of the contract. The article outlines the grievance procedure - the process of resolving a grievance with union representation at a variety of levels. If the grievance is not able to be settled internally, it will proceed to neutral third-party arbitration. |
| 8 No Strike – No Lockout | During the terms of the contract, the union will not call for a strike and the university will not lock out the union. No member is permitted, for the duration of this contract, to in any concerted way, strike, curtail, slow down, or in other way refuse to perform work for the University, nor encourage others to do so. Doing so is cause for discipline. |
| 9 Discipline and Discharge | Discipline and discharge introduces definitions for discipline and discharge and implements requirements for just cause, progressive discipline, and advanced notice in disciplinary cases. Academic matters that may impact employment will be handled separately and not through the grievance procedure. This article ensures you cannot be discharged from your appointment without just cause or warning. |
| 10 Non-Discrimination | There are three categories of prohibited conduct: discrimination and harassment subject to Title IX, other discrimination and harassment based on a protected category, and supervisory abusive conduct. In all cases, Stanford is required to investigate the complaints, provide monthly status reports, allow a union rep to accompany any graduate worker to any interviews and other process issues and meetings. Stanford is also required, if requested, to meet with the complainant and a union rep to discuss how to ensure the graduate worker is properly supported during the investigatory period. In non-Title IX cases, if Stanford has not finished its investigation by the end of 4 months (which can be extended to 6 months for cause), the union can force the case to arbitration. The independent arbitrator is able to hear evidence, come to a conclusion on the facts, and decide what the university has to do to protect and make whole the impacted graduate workers. In Title IX cases, after the process has completed, a case can be taken to arbitration. |
| 11 Inclusive Work Environment | This article guarantees accommodations for graduate workers with disabilities, religious accommodations, and accommodations for graduate workers who are lactating. The university will work with requesting graduate workers to provide access to gender neutral restrooms, will provide free menstrual products in women’s and all-gender workplace restrooms, and will respond to requests for placing menstrual products in men’s restrooms. There is now a procedure for graduate workers to specify their names and pronoun usage in university online systems and a confidential portal for reporting incorrect name and pronoun usage by university systems. |
| 12 Health and Safety | This article lays out the responsibilities of both Stanford and the worker for providing workplace health and safety protections. Graduate workers are entitled to a safe working environment. The university will provide necessary training for safe use of laboratory equipment, workplace safety evaluations, compensation for workplace related injuries, and resources for field work safety. Graduate workers can anonymously report hazardous working conditions and will not have to resume work in an unsafe location. |
| 13 International Graduate Workers | This article outlines the various support mechanisms and protections secured for international graduate workers. These improvements include assurances that Bechtel will respond to requests in a timely manner (within five days for those who are stuck abroad), support and reappointment for those who are unable to return to the USA, guarantees that CPT/OPT shall not be unreasonably denied, and a one-time payment to cover visa fees is included in Tuition and Fees [22]. |
| 14 Appointment Security | If Stanford cancels your TA/RA/CA position, they must find you a comparable replacement. If they can’t find a comparable replacement, you will be paid as if you still held the canceled position. |
| 15 Appointment Notification | Two weeks prior to the start of each quarter, you will receive a letter outlining your duties, compensation, and more. Stanford has 6 months to get this system set up. Your compensation, and other things outlined in the letter, cannot be reduced by the University during the quarter. |
| 16 Appointment Posting | When there is an unfilled opening for a TA/RA/CA position, the University will post these on a new website for grad students to apply. Stanford has 6 months to get this system set up. |
| 17 Professional Rights | This article recognizes the professional rights that Graduate Workers have in the workplace. This includes latitude to participate in discussions and exercise their professional judgment in how they accomplish their work duties, and access to workspace and materials to perform their duties. Graduate Workers will get reimbursement for travel expenses, materials, and supplies when necessary for their Appointment duties. Graduate workers may also refuse to front the money and alternative payment methods will be used. Graduate workers may elect to use per diem reimbursement to cover meals for work-related travel. Graduate Workers will have the same intellectual property and copyright rights and obligations as facility and staff. Graduate Workers may make a written request to the University to seek information about the source of funding for their Appointment. |
| 18 Workload | 50% RA/TA/CA positions won’t assign more than an average of 20 hours of work per week. If you have to work more one week, you can work less in a subsequent week. This limit includes training and conferences. You have broad discretion as to when you do your work, except for things that are time sensitive. Work cannot be required to be done on evenings, weekends, or university holidays, except when necessary due to the nature of the work. |
| 19 Training | This article stipulates that Stanford will provide graduate workers with required training and orientations to fulfill their assigned work duties at no cost to the worker. The graduate workers may suggest further training opportunities that, if approved, will be provided at no additional cost. |
| 20 Leaves and Time Off | Reasonable requests for time off shall not be unreasonably denied. There are no explicit limits on this amount or the times they can be scheduled. Graduate workers are expected to coordinate with their supervisor in advance when possible and do their best to schedule reasonable time. Pregnant graduate workers will get 3 months of paid leave, normally the quarter they give birth. Stanford eliminated the requirement that you must be in your first 6 years at Stanford to take this leave. Non-birth parents will receive 2 weeks (previously none) time off. This is explicitly separate from personal or other time off (you can be granted this even if your supervisor feels you have used all your vacation). This shall normally occur within 6 months after the arrival of the child. We have been alloted 10 sick days throughout the year (previously we had 3). |
| 21 Compensation | This article sets wage increases that match or exceed on-campus rent for all graduate workers. The minimum RA/CA stipend has been raised to $54,052 for the 2024-2025 year, $56,348 for the 2025-2026 academic year, and $58,460 for the 2026-2027 academic year. This constitutes a 4.75% first year raise for the majority of graduate workers and 6.75% for those at the current university minimum. Those already making above $52,000 will get a raise of 4.5%. All departments must provide a minimum raise of 4.5% in the first year, 4% in the second, and 3.5% in the third. In the second and third years of the contract, the majority of graduate workers will receive a 4.25% and 3.75% raise, respectively, exceeding rent increases [see R\&DE letter]. A retroactive raise will go to Graduate Workers working in the Autumn quarter of 2024. Hourly rates for the 3 years of the contract are $52/hr, $54/hr, and $56/hr. Other financial benefits provided to graduate students are enshrined here, including an increase in the cash advance to $4000/quarter. (Per Stanford’s guaranteed funding policy [PhD Funding Policy Letter], fellows are provided commensurate compensation to in unit graduate workers with 50% Appointments. The University confirmed this will include the retroactive pay.) |
| 22 Tuition and Fees | This article provides a one time $1200 payment for international graduate PhD workers, which can help cover visa fees. This applies to current and all future PhD international graduate students. Tuition coverage is also enshrined in this article. As a student benefit, this applies to fellows. |
| 23 Benefits | Graduate Workers will remain under Cardinal Care, which will remain in place, premium free, for the duration of the contract. The Union will be notified of all material changes to health insurance benefits and The University and The Union shall meet twice a year to discuss concerns. Graduate Workers who are enrolled in Cardinal Care may enroll their dependents on the same terms and conditions as other graduate students. Dependent children shall be eligible for child care services offered by the University. Graduate Workers with dependent children who have an annual household income ≤ $150,000 will be eligible to apply for the Graduate Family Grant. The University will inform the union if it is feasible to set up a dependent-care flexible spending account for Graduate Workers. Graduate Workers shall be eligible to apply for up to $4000 per year in Graduate Student Aid funds. Emergency Grant-In-Aid will remain in place, and now explicitly cover chronic medical and mental health conditions as well as medically necessary expenses including vision and dental expenses. If your application is denied, you will be granted an explanation upon request. The University shall notify the Union 30 calendar days in advance of any proposed change in parking fees to be charged to Graduate Workers. Graduate workers are eligible to serve on the Vaden Student Health Advisory Committee and the Graduate Housing Advisory Committee As student benefits, these apply to fellows. |
| 24 Severability | This article is standard legal language that states that if one portion of this contract is found to be unlawful then that portion will be null and void, but no other portions of the contract will be affected. |
| 25 Complete Agreement | The union and Stanford agree that bargaining on mandatory subjects has concluded, and the agreements reached herein cannot be modified without written consent from both the Union and Stanford. |
| 26 Duration | This article sets the expiration date of the contract as August 31st, 2027, giving it a duration of about 3 years. |
| Side Letter A Worker Status | Wage or hour disputes will be resolved through the union grievance procedure, ensuring that the University can continue to not require us to fill out time cards each week. This certifies graduate workers as workers according to the NLRB definition and our national union affiliation. |
| Side Letter B Caltrain GoPass Program | This side letter outlines the details of the Caltrain GoPass Program. Within 90 days of ratification, Stanford will provide a Caltrain GoPass to all graduate students who reside outside of ZIP codes 94304, 94305, and 94309. This program will last the duration of the contract unless the student rate is eliminated by Caltrain. As a student benefit, this applies to fellows. |
| Letters from Stanford University to The Union While part of our agreement, these do not consist of contractual language | |
|---|---|
| Letter | Summary |
| Weiland Commitment | This letter serves to confirm that the services provided through the Weiland Health Initiative are supported through endowed funds, specifically to provide services to its LGBTQ community. This means these funds cannot be used for any other purposes and thus will be maintained. |
| PhD Funding Policy | This letter from Stanford confirms that enrolled PhD students in good academic standing receive 12 months of continuous funding for the first 5 years of the degree, and links to Stanford’s published policy. If a student experiences funding issues, they may request a meeting, to which they can bring a union representative, to discuss available funding options. The meeting can only be denied if the reason for the lack of funding is due to lack of sufficient academic progress. This should also mean that if academic progress is the cause, graduate students are notified such that they can contest or rectify the situation. The Union will also meet with the University twice each year to discuss any issues related to the implementation of the funding commitment. As a student benefit, this applies to fellows. |
| Letter on RD\&E Rent | This letter confirms that the composite average rents will match those listed in the table displayed in the letter (4.25% in 2024-2025, 4% in 2025-2026, and 3.5% in 2026-2027). This is the first time Stanford R\&DE has published more than the current year’s rates. |
2024-11-12:
Tentative agreement reached, strike averted
Tentative agreement reached, strike averted
Dear Graduate Workers,
We were able to get sufficient movement from Stanford to reach a tentative agreement this evening on a complete contract that we can recommend.
We are thus calling off the strike at this time. We will release the full TA with an explanation of the offer on Wednesday, then the membership will get to vote on the potential contract. We expect the Wednesday communication to also include details on the plan for the contract vote.
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-11-11:
Strike postponed to Wednesday, Nov 13
Strike postponed to Wednesday, Nov 13
Dear Graduate Workers,
After 14 hours of bargaining today, we have made progress on getting towards a resolution. We are not quite there, but we think it is worthwhile to continue bargaining. Therefore, we will resume bargaining Tuesday, November 12, at 9 am with an expectation that we will either get it done or move forward with the strike. We are postponing the strike for 24 hours until Wednesday November 13 at 10 am. We will update you if we reach a tentative agreement before Wednesday morning.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-11-10:
Stanford Returns to the Bargaining Table
Stanford returns to the bargaining table for a last-minute session after heightened pressure. We hope to come to an agreement on Monday that we can recommend; otherwise the strike will start on Tuesday morning.
Dear Graduate Workers:
After negotiations fell apart last Thursday, our union moved full speed ahead to stop work and begin picketing on Tuesday (sign up for your picket shifts here). After a surge of solidarity – from grad workers, faculty, other workers, undergrads – and media attention, Stanford has agreed to resume negotiations on Monday, November 11.
Our hope is that our meeting will be productive enough to avoid a strike on Tuesday.
If Stanford is willing to meaningfully address the needs and concerns of graduate workers, the Bargaining Committee can follow up with a recommendation tomorrow. If Stanford continues dragging its feet, we will begin the strike on November 12, with picketing starting at 10AM. Sign up for picket shifts here!
The Bargaining Committee will notify everyone as soon as possible if we reach a settlement with the Stanford administration.
We need raises and workplace protections now.
Pictures from today’s strike planning meeting. 🔥
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-11-08:
Stanford breaks off negotiations. Plan to strike.
SGWU started Thursday bargaining with a full counter proposal, including a substantial move on wages, in an attempt to reach a contract. Stanford replied that if the union didn’t agree to their wage proposal, they would not discuss any other issues. There are a number of open issues including non-discrimination and the funding guarantee. We are available on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Stanford declined to set a meeting. Strike is set for Tuesday, November 12th. Picketing starts at 10AM. RSVP here.
Dear Graduate Workers,
Stanford has made it clear that your work and contributions to the University are not worth a living wage. Refusing to acknowledge the affordability crisis graduate workers have struggled with for years, Stanford has indicated that the most they are willing to offer is $53908 (a 4.5% raise for most graduate workers) to match the increase in rent they dictated for this year. This increase is not enough, and we know that we are all worth more than the offer that stands on the table. Stanford can easily afford to do better. Their 37.6 billion dollar endowment grew by over 8% last year.
On Thursday, we presented a full counterproposal (check out the tracker here) that included substantial movement in wages and language that we hoped would pave a path to a contract. However, Stanford responded by refusing to bargain over unresolved issues, until we agreed to their wage rate. They are effectively holding hostage important language and economic issues, including adequate protections against discrimination and abusive conduct.
We have indicated that we are available anytime before Tuesday, even over the weekend, to meet with Stanford. Despite the messaging from Stacy Bent and Jenny Martinez (who have declined to join bargaining themselves), it is in fact Stanford who has refused to set further meetings. Their supposed 4.5% first year wage increase is worth less than <3.5% because they are skipping the Autumn quarter. They tout a 6.5% increase for some; it only applies to 200 people of over 5000. Stanford’s last proposal reads “The University may alter, modify, substitute, or terminate any of its health and medical and dental insurance plans”.
Absent an improved offer from Stanford, they leave us with no choice but to go on strike. We expect everyone to come out to the picket line and to sign up to be a strike or picket captain (we will train you!). You have a legal right to strike, we have a strike hardship fund set up to support those on strike, and you are not alone. Graduate workers will stop all work-related activities and begin picketing Tuesday, November 12th at 10AM. We are fighting for a fair offer from Stanford.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-11-08:
A message from SGWU to faculty
This message was emailed to a non-exhaustive faculty list. Also, as a clarification, Stanford's current 4.5% offer does not include the Autumn, so it is actually 3.5%.
TL;DR:
- Stanford has cut off bargaining.
- Tell Provost Martinez and Vice Provost Bent that you want the university to return to the bargaining table with an improved offer.
- SGWU has proposed many ways to improve graduate worker’s budgets without impacting faculty grants. Stanford refused them all.
- Stanford’s strike advice to faculty poses legal risks. Please read the details below.
- We ask faculty to comply with their legal obligation as supervisors under the National Labor Relations Act and to be neutral with respect to each worker’s decision to strike.
Dear Stanford Faculty,
We, the members of the Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU), are appealing to you personally, as our direct supervisors, to support us in regards to the situation that Stanford has created at the bargaining table. As we write this, Stanford has cut off bargaining. If you, like us, wish to avoid a strike please contact Provost Martinez and Vice Provost Bent asking them to come to the bargaining table with an improved offer.
Stanford graduate students elected to have a union in June 2023, just as other students at peer institutions like U Chicago, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Northwestern, and MIT have. Our economic position is a direct response to the pressures created by the cost of living in the Bay Area. Stanford loses talent and productivity because of the way our wages fail to keep up with the cost of living. Stanford’s expenses survey shows that many PhD graduate workers work second jobs, stretch their food budget, and defer medical care. Their analysis justifying their current wage offer, among other issues, arbitrarily removes $10k from the transportation budgets found in the third-party cost-of-living analysis they cite. In addition, Stanford has refused to agree to basic protections against discrimination and harassment. Lastly, Stanford is avoiding an enforcement mechanism for the Provost’s 5-year 12-month funding guarantee.
SGWU called for a membership vote on Stanford’s October 28th proposal and the members overwhelmingly voted it down, with 94% voting “no.” Stanford continues to propose a raise for PhDs that barely covers the on-campus rent increases. SGWU has tried to minimize the contract’s effect on faculty budgets. We proposed rent decreases and freezes, tax-fringe benefits allowing tax savings for graduate workers, passing summer and TGR tuition savings to graduate workers, or otherwise removing/modifying tuition overhead charges like Princeton did. Stanford refused to discuss some and rejected the rest. Our most recent benefits proposal and wage proposal are publicly available.
We have made significant progress at the bargaining table since negotiations began last year and have reached a number of tentative agreements with Stanford. Yet on Thursday, November 7th, Jenny Martinez and Stacey Bent (neither of whom have ever attended bargaining) authored a post to the Stanford Report that we consider mischaracterizations. We have indicated that we are available anytime before Tuesday, even over the weekend, to meet with Stanford. Stanford has declined to schedule any meetings. Their supposed 4.5% first year wage increase is worth less than 3.5% because they are skipping the Autumn quarter. They tout a 6.5% increase for some; it only applies to 200 people of over 5000. Despite touting “expanded benefits”, Stanford’s last proposal reads “The University may alter, modify, substitute, or terminate any of its health and medical and dental insurance plans”.
We are still eager to work with the administration to finish these negotiations. On the morning of November 7th, in a good-faith effort to reach a settlement, we delivered several revised proposals. Stanford has not responded to any of them.
Our strike is not directed at our advisors, at our students, or at our academic relationships. Ultimately, only the Stanford administration—the provost, president, and the board of trustees—can resolve the demands from thousands of graduate students for fair compensation, protections against discrimination and harassment, and guaranteed funding. The administration will likely pressure faculty to discipline their students, which will threaten the academic integrity of mentor-mentee relationships. We believe that the best way for faculty to navigate these pressures is to commit to a neutral stance. That is, to continue to be academics and mentors, and not become managers that seek to crack down on employees’ rights.We have concerns that Stanford admin is taking legally indefensible positions to try and encourage faculty and students to break the law. First, their guidance claims that students must continue 20 hours/week of academic work. However, according to Stanford’s own contingency plan regarding employment and academic work, “for many PhD students it is impossible to fully separate the two.” According to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a “partial strike” or ceasing to only perform certain duties as opposed to a full work stoppage, is not protected activity. As a result, if we were to perform duties that encompass both academics and employment (e.g., attending group meetings), we would risk performing an illegal strike. For their own legal protection, we recommend graduate workers limit their academic work during the strike to that which is clearly not employment related.
As another legal miscommunication, while it is true that fellows are not currently included in the bargaining unit, NLRB Case No. 01-RC-304042 (MIT) invites “filing a new petition seeking to represent particular subclassifications of graduate fellows who are statutory employees … under the common-law standard set forth in Columbia University”. Since fellows at Stanford perform instructional and/or research duties, it is clear that they meet the Columbia standard. The fellows striking would fall under “protected concerted activity” and be legally guaranteed freedom from retaliation by their employer.
Faculty hold a position of respect and power in the lives of graduate workers. A faculty commitment to neutrality allows graduate workers to decide for themselves whether to strike without concerns about their academic progress or their relationship with their faculty mentors. We call on faculty to avoid, even if unintentional, the appearance of coercion or retaliation during the escalation towards a strike. We urge faculty, regardless of their stance on unionization, to commit themselves to neutrality in their treatment of graduate workers in the event of a strike.
If you feel comfortable doing so, please sign the Faculty Neutrality Pledge. To support vulnerable workers, we are accepting donations to our strike fund here.
Please contact Provost Martinez and Vice Provost Bent asking them to present an improved offer to help us avoid a strike.
Thank you,
SGWU Bargaining Committee
2024-11-07:
Strike Authorized; Bargaining Continues
Our members have voted 94% in favor of rejecting Stanford’s offer and ~90% in favor of striking. Stanford moved on raises, but it’s still not enough. They have until November 12 to avoid a strike. Major: Stanford published the rent increases for the next two years, for the first time ever. We have effectively ensured that rent increases can’t exceed our wage increases! You have a legal right to strike for almost all jobs at Stanford (including fellows and hourly work). Check out our guidance on graduate workers’ legal right to strike.
Dear Graduate Workers,
Last night the votes came in with a resounding rejection of Stanford’s proposed contract, and strong support for a strike if necessary. Stanford’s proposed contract was rejected by a 94.0% vote with 2,333 graduate workers voting. 89.3% voted to authorize a strike, with 2,317 total votes.
It’s clear that Stanford is feeling the pressure of the thousands of graduate workers who have pledged to strike: yesterday morning, they offered a new wage proposal that would increase the minimum salary to $53,908, with a 4.5% increase for most graduate employees in the first year. This proposal is still not nearly enough for us given the pressure of rising rents and cost of living in one of the most expensive places in the country and the world. We need an immediate and substantial raise in the first year of the contract. Graduate workers have made this perfectly clear with the overwhelming threshold they voted in favor of the strike authorization.
While there is still ground to cover on wages, Stanford made a historic move with respect to rent: RD\&E has, for the first time ever, published on-campus rents for the next two years (Stanford’s expected duration of the contract). This is a huge win, because now we can effectively ensure that our compensation outpaces the cost of rent. We also reached a tentative agreement on two articles in yesterday’s session. But this is still not enough, and if Stanford can not come to the table with a fair offer next week, we’re going to strike for the pay and protections we deserve.
If Stanford does not make serious movement, most importantly on the first year wage increase, nondiscrimination, benefits, and guaranteed funding, the BC is authorized to call a strike beginning on Tuesday, November 12. This is not a decision made lightly. Talk to your friends. Talk to your coworkers. Talk to your organizers about the strike. Organizing details will be sent later today.
Finally, all graduate student workers have a legal right to strike. This includes fellows, international workers, and graduate workers on hourly wages working on every job paid by Stanford. Read our guidance on graduate workers’ legal right to strike for more details.
In Solidarity
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-11-01:
Stanford Struggles with the Concerns of Graduate Workers. Strike Authorization Vote and Contract Vote Now Open\!
Stanford stalled again. We reiterated our strike date of November 12th. The strike authorization vote and contract vote ballot has been sent to all those who have filled out a union card. We will send an OpaVote ballot to those who sign up this and next week. Sign up for picket captain training here to help lead the picket line. The strike pledge remains open and we encourage everyone to sign their pledge so we know who to expect at the picket line.
Dear Graduate Workers,
Stanford stalled again on Thursday. There’s so much stalling you’d think they’re just learning how to drive stick. But it’s not clear if the stalling is a tactic, as it clearly has been at times over the past months, or if it is now due to a fundamental (and sad!) lack of understanding on their part of the current wage structure for Stanford grad workers. For example, they are proud of the 5% wage increase that they offered to some of us in their last proposal, the one we’re all voting on. But it has become clear that they were oblivious to the fact that this raise would go to less than 200 graduate workers, who are currently paid the university minimum. 5% isn’t enough for anyone, and it’s certainly hard to believe they provided a serious offer when most grad workers would only get a 2 to 3% raise.
The silver lining in our discussions with Stanford on Thursday is that they are aware a big deadline is looming and are feeling the pressure. They will meet with us next week to hammer out our remaining language issues, after which we’ll try to reach a resolution on wages. November 12 is rapidly approaching and Stanford needs to put a proposal on the table that graduate workers need and deserve.
But the offer they have out now is not that. As a reminder, the Bargaining Committee strongly recommends that all graduate workers vote “NO” on Stanford’s proposal and “YES” to call for authorizing a strike. If the strike authorization vote passes with a majority, we will initiate the strike on November 12. Hundreds of graduate workers came to the membership meeting on Wednesday, and the current pace of incoming votes has outstripped the pace of strike pledges when we launched them a month back. We understand how important and urgent this moment is: we need real raises now! Join your coworkers in this critical vote.
If you have signed a membership card, your ballot was sent out on Wednesday, October 30th from OpaVote and will be available until 11:59 PM on November 6th. If you didn’t receive a ballot, you may need to fill out a current membership card here to vote. We will send you a ballot within a day after signing up. If you have not received a ballot, check your spam folder or reach out to contact@sgwu.us for help.
We are preparing for the possibility of a strike. We have established a strike fund and are recruiting volunteers from every department to help with the strike. Sign up to be a picket captain and read a detailed description of the role here. In addition, the strike pledge remains open and we still want you to help spread the pledge out to everyone; it’s how we know who we can count on during the strike.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee
2024-10-31:
Membership Meeting Recap and Slides; Contract and Strike Authorization Vote Now
Dear Stanford grad workers,
Last night’s membership meeting was an energizing show of solidarity! Hundreds of graduate workers showed up in the room and on Zoom, discussed the state of negotiations, and asked questions about the potential escalation toward a strike. If you were unable to attend, here are the slides!
