This month, graduate employees at Penn State are making history as they cast their votes to organize their union, Coalition of Graduate Employees-UAW (CGE-UAW). Their decades-long organizing effort, despite opposition from Penn State's Administration, has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making our University better for current and future students. As members of the Penn State Faculty Alliance—Penn State faculty forming a faculty union—we are proud to stand in solidarity with CGE-UAW.
Graduate employees are critical to the mission of academic institutions and essential to undergraduate education at Penn State. They are responsible for their coursework, and they contribute to the University's effective governance by serving on a myriad of committees. As employees, they are paid to teach and conduct research on projects that benefit the University; they are also partners in course development, design, and assessment. As faculty, we couldn't fulfill our responsibilities to undergraduate students or conduct and present research without the work of graduate students.
A recently released statement from Executive Vice President and Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos on the graduate employee union election contends that "...graduate students are students, first and foremost, at Penn State to pursue an advanced education and research training. The institution remains committed to supporting the academic journey, professional growth, and well-being of students who are integral to the University's scholarly mission".
As Penn State faculty, we know that graduate students are not simply students. The graduate student experience is not solely an academic one; it is an apprenticeship. Apprentices are paid living wages for on-the-job training and professional instruction from experts in their craft, training to be the next generation of scientists, teachers, artists, nurses, doctors, and engineers—the people who build and maintain the country and care for its inhabitants.
The graduate student apprenticeship is a full-time job, and graduate employees deserve transparent workplace policies and a guarantee of fair treatment. Instead, many graduate employees find that their experiences depend greatly on their individual faculty advisors and the established culture of their department and program. It is unacceptable to expect graduate employees to provide necessary labor for the University without adequate compensation or fundamental workplace protections.
While the administration admits that graduate employees are integral to the mission of the University, graduate employees are unable to meet basic costs of living while working for Penn State. Graduate employees can be paid stipend grades ranging from 9–27, with Grade 12 as the current "Required Minimum Stipend Grade" according to Penn State’s Office of Budget and Finance. In 2023, a graduate assistant with a half-time Grade 12 appointment received $22,770 over two semesters; comparatively, a Grade 26 received $37,845. The Administration’s statement regarding graduate pay inflated the amount of money that graduate employees actually receive by including tuition remissions and indirect costs in the total compensation package. But graduate students don't receive those funds; this money, therefore, doesn't pay for groceries, childcare, or heat in the winter. It also failed to mention that without a union, the administration can unilaterally change those stipend amounts without forewarning or recourse.
As faculty, we know that many graduate employees struggle to afford living in State College. In 2023, a single adult in Centre County needed an annual income of $36,684 to survive, while a single adult with a child in daycare needed $53,424 (2023, Pennsylvania | UnitedForALICE). Typical graduate employees, often appointed at half-time Grade 14 or lower, earn 30–40% less than this survival threshold.
All faculty members used to be graduate students. For some of us, it may have been a while ago, but we remember living in cramped conditions, living far from campus to afford housing, struggling with a long commute or lack of transportation, having no dental insurance or access to mental health care, and, at times, relying on family members to meet basic needs (if we were lucky enough to have family who could help). Graduate school is a formative experience, but it often requires delaying life's milestones till later years.
The Penn State Faculty Alliance is inspired by the commitment of graduate CGE-UAW organizers. Their organizing efforts challenge Penn State to be a more responsive and accountable institution, even as the administration has resisted that call with high-paid law firms and repeated process delays. We expect Penn State to uphold its stated values—amongst them respect and community—rather than undervaluing the dedication and labor of scholars and staff who (by the administration’s own admission) are "integral" to the University's mission.
How can we educate and train the next generation of scholars and thrive as an institution of higher learning, where graduate employees, staff, and faculty are respected as part of a larger community? We can come together, as graduate employees have sought to do for nearly two decades. The most tangible interdisciplinary, cross-departmental project we can pursue is unionization. Unions can address inadequate working conditions, provide an equitable seat at the table, and give a voice to all of us. Without a democratic voice, we—graduate employees, staff, and faculty—do not have recourse when the power differential is unbalanced and when the institution is opaque. As graduate employees cast their vote over the next few weeks, we know that choosing union solidarity offers a promising future for Penn State.
Penn State Faculty Alliance Organizing Committee Members:
- Matthew Fantle, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
- Michelle Rodino-Colocino, College of Communications
- Sarah J. Townsend, College of Liberal Arts
