As the new academic year begins, grad workers are excited to have the chance to vote YES for our union this fall and finally win the right to have a voice in the terms of our employment.
As you may have seen, Penn State recently adjusted grad worker funding packages for the 2025-2026 academic year. Though we’re glad to see a modest increase to our wages, the 4% increase still fails to keep pace with the rapidly increasing cost of living in State College, Hershey, Carlisle, and Harrisburg.
Penn State admin also recently announced that grad workers will soon face higher healthcare costs. Penn State is raising the cost of student health insurance by nearly 22%, or $157 dollars annually for the individual plan.
We deserve a say in our wages and benefits! Unfortunately, the recently announced increase in health care costs is a perfect example of why grad workers at Penn State have decided to organize – without a union, Penn State admin is able to make unilateral changes to the terms of our employment. When we win our union election this fall, we will win the right to negotiate as equals with admin over our working conditions, including pay and healthcare costs. Unionized grad workers at universities like Caltech and University of Washington have recently won significant wage increases and improvements to healthcare coverage.
We will only win our union by working together. A strong majority of grad workers turning out to vote YES in our union election in the fall will clearly communicate to Penn State that we want to see major improvements to our wages and benefits. We can all start preparing to vote now by taking the bargaining survey and speaking to coworkers about our upcoming election!
Get your Coworkers Out to Vote!
In solidarity,
Elise Shealy
Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics