Tonight, the GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee voted to approve a complete Tentative Agreement with the Penn administration. This agreement is the crowning accomplishment to years of organizing by Penn graduate workers; it includes dramatic improvements to grad workers’ pay, benefits, and workplace rights. The full details of the agreement will be shared tomorrow, Tuesday, via email and our website. During the final hours of bargaining, grad workers secured:
- A minimum doctoral stipend of $49,000 (a 21% increase) and a minimum hourly rate of $25. Graduate workers who are already being paid above these new minimums will receive a minimum raise of 3%. These raises will go into effect April 1.
- A minimum raise of 3% on July 1, 2027.
- A strong union security article which will enable grad workers to build a strong union, enforce our contract, and negotiate an even better one two years from now.
- An annual fund of $200,000 to fund up to 50% of health insurance premiums for graduate workers’ dependents.
Because we have reached a complete Tentative Agreement, graduate workers will not be going on strike Tuesday: we will not be holding picket lines and we will continue our research and teaching work as normal. This contract will not be finalized until it passes a majority ratification vote. Details about the ratification voting process will also be shared Tuesday.
Let’s be clear: Penn admin reluctantly made movement in the eleventh hour only because graduate workers built a credible strike threat, one that we were fully prepared to launch on Tuesday. This agreement would not have happened without the thousands of graduate workers who have bravely stood together over the past several years—who had difficult conversations with our coworkers, collected petition signatures, packed the bargaining room, organized rallies, and who ultimately prepared to withhold our labor and go to the picket line together to win what we deserve. As we take a moment to breathe and celebrate our collective victory, let’s remember that we got through this together.