Grad Workers Stand Up for Fair Pay at UIC

The University of Illinois Chicago is seeing a wave of protest as about two thousand graduate students, who help teach and research, demand better wages. These workers have been negotiating with school leaders for a year but could not agree on a new contract, so they began striking last Monday. At a rally on campus, one student explained that he can’t even pay his car insurance and many classmates have had to move because rent is too high. The union says the university offered only a 2 % raise for the first year of a new contract. In comparison, private schools nearby pay graduate assistants up to twice as much, with Northwestern starting at $45 000 and the University of Chicago at nearly $48 000. The union’s latest ask is a nine‑month salary of $38 000, which they say would bring pay in line with regional standards. They previously wanted $60 000, a figure that research from MIT suggests would give workers a living wage. Besides money, the workers want better health coverage. Their current plan, CampusCare, only works through a few hospitals on the South Side of Chicago and has high premiums.The union requests lower costs and more comprehensive care, including gender‑affirming and reproductive services. International graduate students also face new challenges. The union wants the university to keep federal immigration agents off campus and to offer more training about legal rights. They cite the recent Operation Midway Blitz, during which agents detained thousands in Chicago, many near UIC. The union also warns that artificial intelligence should not replace their jobs. They want a guarantee that teaching and research will remain human‑led, not automated. Classes continue during the strike. The university says it will keep lessons running and grading on schedule while it tries to reach a deal. So far, there have been 29 bargaining sessions and two more are planned for the coming week. A federal mediator has stepped in a few times to help avoid a full‑scale work stoppage. The strike shows that graduate students are fighting not just for higher pay but also for fair treatment and job security in a competitive research environment.