Our Victories
The following wins result from the collective efforts of over 2,000 graduate workers and countless allies. Since 2018, we have engaged in public marches, petitions, a fee strike, our Spring 2022 Graduate Worker Strike, and our Spring 2024 “Three Days For A Raise” Strike.
We eliminated fees, including international student fees!
August 2022: IU waived the mandatory graduate student fees of $1,435 paid by all SAAs as well as some course-specific fees for SAAs in programs that charge them. (See full story here.)
September 2022: IU waived the international student fee and the G901 fee for SAAs. (See full story here.)
We won wage increases!
August 2022: After almost 10 years of stagnant wages, IU raised the minimum SAA stipends to $22,000, a 46% increase over the minimum SAA stipend of $15,000 in Fall 2021. Some departments were previously paid as little as $7,000 a year. IU also committed to ensure “minimum stipends and discipline-specific stipend rates remain in the top half of the Big Ten” going forward, with a mandatory review process for SAA stipends to be conducted every two years. (See full story here.)
July 2023: IU gave a 3% raise ($660 a year) to returning SAAs for the 2023–2024 academic year. (See the Dean’s Memo here.)
We won healthcare and other benefits!
October 2022: IU changed its Leaves of Absence policy to provide full insurance benefits to SAAs on medical or parental leave, including unpaid leaves, for up to six months. (See full story here and the policy here.)
2023: IU restored the SAA Affairs Committee on the Bloomington Faculty Council (BFC), and the BFC passed a new policy for the SAA Board of Review, which reviews graduate student grievances and complaints related to the terms and conditions of their academic appointments. (See more info here.)
