Our Rights

Now that Grad Workers at Penn have our first union contract, it’s on all of us to enforce the union contract in our workplace by actively organizing around the grievance process. Our contract (specifically, Article 10) gives us the right to raise grievances when Penn does not follow our contract, and the right to present those grievances to a neutral arbitrator if necessary. By staying organized and reporting potential grievances quickly, workers show the University that we will not tolerate contractual violations.

• Wages and Tuition/Fee Remission (e.g. late or incorrect pay, incorrectly charged fees, tuition remission issues, or part-time stipended workers being paid an effective wage less than $25/hour)
• Abusive conduct/bullying, harassment and discrimination
• Health and safety issues (e.g. unsafe working conditions or difficulties accessing workers’ compensation)
• Job Security Issues (e.g. unjust discipline or dismissal from your appointment)
• Access needs (e.g. workers with disabilities being denied an appropriate accommodation)
• Family Rights (e.g. difficulties accessing paid parental leave, childcare benefits, or dependent healthcare benefits)
• International Grad Worker Rights (e.g. difficulties accessing visa renewal fund or re-hiring protections)
• Workload (e.g. going over your weekly hours)
• Misclassification (e.g. course assistants performing TA work without appropriate compensation)
• Inadequate Workspace Materials
• Leaves (e.g. difficulties using medical leave, sick days,or bereavement days)
• Transit (e.g. difficulties accessing SEPTA or bike commuter benefits)

If you believe you are experiencing a violation of your contractual rights, send an email to organize@getup-uaw.org. A fellow Grad Worker will follow up with you about potential next steps.

Our contract gives graduate workers the right to participate in multiple university-administered funds. Check specific contract articles for more information on eligibility and benefit availability.

The following contractually-guaranteed benefits programs are still being formed. Check back here for links to apply when they become available:

• Dependent health insurance
• SEPTA pass
• Visa fee renewal reimbursement