KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Campus announced a major increase to minimum stipends for graduate assistants, according to a release.
The United Campus Workers and Tennessee’s higher education union started their campaign to raise graduate stipends in March 2023.
Officials say the graduate workers were starting petitions, passing resolutions in the Graduate Student Senate, speaking with administrators about the dire situation graduate workers faced, holding a rally on campus to demand fair pay and marching with a large group of grads to deliver the petition to Chancellor Donde Plowman’s office.
After six months of campaigning on Thursday, Aug. 31, Chancellor Donde Plowman and Provost John Zomchick announced major increases to minimum stipends for graduate assistants across the University of Tennessee.
Prior to the announcement, stipends remained at $14,400/year. The average Knoxville rent is around $1355/month. Graduate stipends for 9-month and 12-month contracts will immediately rise to $19,401 and $25,868/year, respectively, representing a 35% and 44% raise, according to a report.
Darla Bonagura, a graduate worker in the Department of Psychology, said, “Graduate stipends should have been increased a long time ago. The cost of living in Knoxville has skyrocketed in the last few years. I'm grateful for the grads who worked on this campaign, and I hope it inspires more folks to get involved with UCW and make this campus a better place to work for all of us.”
According to a release, several interviews and surveys were taken across campus and the United Campus Workers found graduate workers were forgoing medical care, working multiple jobs, skipping meals and incurring significant debt to survive while working.
Ryan Ackett, a graduate worker in Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science and the UCW Grad Committee Co-Chair, said, “This is one of the biggest victories for workers in this campus’s history. At the beginning of this campaign, I could have never imagined the overwhelming response we would receive from my fellow grads. Hundreds showed up at events to rally for this, and over a thousand told the University we deserve better. It all goes to show that when we fight for each other, we win!”
Graduate workers in United Campus Workers will continue to campaign for a living wage for all grad workers as the cost of living in Knoxville continues to rise, while also calling for better graduate family and medical leave.
