Graduate Students End Months-Long Strike Days Before Semester Begins
Brandon Poulter on August 25, 2023
Graduate student instructors at the University of Michigan (UM) ended a five-month strike after a contract was approved days before the beginning of the new school year, according to the Associated Press.
The deal between the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) and UM included annual raises at the Ann Arbor campus of 8%, 6% and 6% over three years and a $1,000 bonus, according to the AP. UM graduate students started the strike on March 29 after failed contract negotiation.
“We fought tooth-and-nail over 10 months of bargaining & 5 months of strike action, forcing U-M to grant the largest salary increase in GEO history,” the union wrote in a Thursday night Facebook post.
The union represents 2,300 people on UM campuses, though not all of them went on strike, according to the AP. The contract was approved by 97% of voting members.
“It’s very gratifying to have a new contract in place,” Katie Delong, university negotiator, told the AP.
Pay for the student instructors at the Ann Arbor campus would rise to nearly $30,000 by the third year of the contract, according to the AP. Graduate student instructors at the Flint and Dearborn campuses would make nearly $27,000 under different increases.
UM and the GEO did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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