Petition for Grad Assistant Stipend Increases and Collective Bargaining Rights

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This is an open petition* sponsored by the Nevada Graduate Student Workers. Nevada Graduate Student Workers is a group of concerned graduate assistants at UNR and UNLV seeking to improve working conditions for all Nevada graduate student workers. For any questions or concerns or if you would like more information, please contact us at unrgradstudentworkers@gmail.com or unlvgraduatestudentworkers@gmail.com. Find us at nvgradworkers.org.

Graduate assistants contribute valuable research, creative, and scholarly activities to our respective institutions and Nevada as a whole. Graduate assistants teach over 100 different undergraduate class sections, provide research assistance and mentorship, and directly contribute to the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification of both UNR and UNLV.

Currently, there is no overarching framework for graduate assistants to guarantee cost-of-living adjustments or other increased monetary support, with some students living off of less than $12,000 a year all while maintaining research, teaching, and scholarly obligations. There is both an urgent need to increase graduate assistant compensation, and to encourage graduate assistant collective bargaining to ensure fair wages, benefits, and workplace protections.

PETITION TO all NSHE leadership and Nevada State Legislature:

1. We the undersigned call on the Nevada State Legislature and the NSHE Board of Regents to recognize and uphold collective bargaining rights for graduate assistants at all NSHE campuses (UNR, UNLV, and DRI).

2. We the undersigned call on the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Desert Research Institute to pay graduate assistants a living wage**. We call on NSHE to continue to prioritize graduate assistant stipends in the budget. We call on the Nevada State Legislature to approve budget increases for the specific purpose of increasing graduate assistant stipends.

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*This is an open petition. Signatures will be added publicly once the petition reaches 500 signatures. Public signatures will include name, campus, and position (i.e. graduate student, faculty, undergrad). No other information will be shared publicly.

**A living wage is a wage which a person must earn to support themselves and their family. A living wage must take the cost of living, particularly rent prices, into account. In Reno, the median rent for a studio in fiscal year (FY) 2023 is $1151 per month (1). In Las Vegas, the median rent for a studio in FY 2023 is $1129 per month (2). The federal definition of severe rent burden is paying more than 50% of one’s income in rent (3). Just to afford an average studio apartment without experiencing severe rent burden, UNR and UNLV GAs need to make at least $2300 per month. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, one of the most widely used tools for determining a living wage, a living wage for a single person with no children is $33,398 per year in Reno and $33,077 in Las Vegas (4). To put things in perspective, the current base salary for GAs at UNR ranges from $16,000 - $20,000 over 10 months, depending on degree level and program. Graduate assistants at UNLV are paid even less, with stipends less than $12,000 over 10 months in some programs.

1. https://www.rentdata.org/reno-nv-msa/2023

2. https://www.rentdata.org/las-vegas-henderson-paradise-nv-msa/2023

3. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_092214.html

4. https://livingwage.mit.edu/

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Signed by: Signatures will be added once the petition reaches 500 signatures.

First Name (This will appear in your public signature) *

Last Name (This will appear in your public signature) *

What is your email (personal email preferred)? *Will not be published*. *

What is your phone number? *Will not be published*.

Please select the status that best applies to you: *

Undergraduate Student

Graduate Student

Faculty (including LOAs and post-docs)

Classified Staff

Alumni

Community member

Are you a graduate assistant (research assistant, teaching assistant or other)? *

Yes

Please state the Department you are affiliated with (e.g. Department of Chemistry, Department of English, etc...)
*

Please select your campus affiliation: *

College of Southern Nevada

Desert Research Institute

Great Basin College

Nevada State College

Truckee Meadows Community College

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada, Reno

University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe

Western Nevada College

Please check all the boxes you're interested in:

I'm interested in learning more about Nevada Grad Student Workers. Please have someone contact me.

I'm interested in learning about other ways to support stipend increases and collective bargaining rights.

I will share this petition with 3-5 colleagues.

(Optional) Why do you care about this issue? Your name will NOT be affiliated with your answer. We may use your answer to anonymously share why grad students care about these issues with the State Legislature, the Board of Regents, or University admin.

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