Some student-workers who were covered by the agreement reached between UC and the UAW still contend they are being underpaid relative to contractual obligations.
From Nature 12-14-23:
About 2,000 UC graduate student workers say that they are still not being paid what was agreed upon...
“We take all allegations of incorrect pay seriously and have historically worked diligently with the UAW on resolving any compensation issues as they may arise,” says Stett Holbrook, a UC spokesperson, adding that the university system can’t make further comments on matters in arbitration.
The new contract for graduate students who conduct research states that the lowest annual wage for students who work 20 hours a week — considered 50% of a full-time working week — is US$32,495 for this academic year. This base wage is up from the $22,000 specified before the strike.
Some UC graduate students, however, say that their departments have been appointing researchers to positions with fewer working hours, so that they can pay them less. That’s despite the general expectation that these students devote at least 20 hours a week to research and teaching. Goldberg, for example, has a 41.74% appointment (roughly 16.7 hours a week). “They set these appointment percentages completely arbitrarily just to pay us whatever they want,” he says. The reduced appointment means that Goldberg receives about $8,000 less per year than he would with a 50% assignment.
“The University disagrees with these allegations, and the parties are working together to resolve the matter,” Holbrook says...
Full story at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03873-y.
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