About Us
We are graduate student teaching and research assistants from all colleges and departments across Penn State. Our goal is to increase pay, protect international student workers’ rights, strengthen job security, ensure equitable working and living conditions, and make other improvements. By building a graduate worker union, we can fight for a truly democratic workplace.
We are part of a larger movement of graduate workers organizing across the United States. At the University of California, Columbia, Harvard, NYU, and many other institutions, graduate workers have improved their working conditions through unionization efforts with the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Together we can create the possibility for a better life for all Penn State graduate workers, which can include:
- A livable monthly stipend that is adjusted for inflation
- Paid medical leave
- Visa protections for international students
- 100% fully subsidized health insurance
- 100% fully subsidized transportation costs
- Grievance procedures and retaliation protections from PIs and university management
These are real gains made by unionized graduate workers at other universities, and represent just a few of the changes we would fight for as unionized workers at Penn State.
CGE-UAW will continue to advocate for all graduate workers at Penn State to ensure we are treated fairly—and that our labor is justly valued and compensated—by the university. You can learn more about what a union can accomplish on our FAQ page, review the major issues animating our campaign, and read testimonials from other Penn State graduate workers who are supporting our union.