After more than 18 months at the bargaining table, UF’s graduate student union said it's still waiting for what it sees as a fair deal — and a livable wage.
Graduate Assistants United, the union representing UF’s more than 4,000 graduate workers, has been negotiating with university officials since September 2023 for higher stipends, which are fixed compensation packages encompassing raises and waivers for transportation and healthcare fees.
So far, union leaders say the university has rejected at least five proposals for stipend adjustments.
Despite a successful negotiation for salary raises in 2023, talks have stalled. UF hasn’t offered a new stipend proposal since September, according to GAU’s lead negotiators.
Austin Britton, GAU’s co-chief bargainer and a 27-year-old UF geography doctoral student, said contract renegotiations typically take between six months to a year, but the university is playing “hardball.”
At an April 4 bargaining session, union leaders said they were prepared to receive a new proposal from UF. That didn’t happen. Instead, UF’s chief negotiator, Patrick Keegan, said the union’s proposed language around eliminating graduate fees was too strong.
“We’re in a strange spot. You almost want us to reassert language we don’t like.” Keegan said during the meeting. “It’s going to look like a very aggressive proposal.”
In the closing minutes, Keegan said he would draft a response but indicated that expanding fee relief was unlikely.
UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldan declined to answer questions about the negotiations, saying that “the university will address stipend negotiations through the bargaining process.”
The drawn-out deliberations have tested the patience of union leaders, who argue the university has the money — it just isn’t prioritizing graduate workers. Britton, the GAU bargainer, pointed to a $588 million increase in UF’s assets in fiscal year 2024. Still, the base stipend for graduate assistants on 12-month contracts remains $25,600. “It just comes off as disrespectful,” Britton said. “We need to see that money come down to the grads.”
GAU is pushing for stipends to match the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's living wage estimate for Alachua County: $44,947 per year for individuals with no children. That figure is more than $19,000 above UF’s current minimum for graduate students.
The disparity is growing. In 2017, UF graduate students were paid about 95% of MIT’s estimated minimum living wage. Last year, that figure hovered around 60%.
GAU co-president Cassie Urbenz, a 24-year-old graphic design graduate student, said members are increasingly struggling to make ends meet — especially with soaring rent costs in Gainesville and shrinking availability for on-campus housing.
She said university officials “refuse to take ownership or responsibility” for helping students combat the effects of inflation.
GAU, the largest graduate student union in Florida, is also supporting parallel fights at Florida State University and the University of South Florida, where graduate workers are entering their own stipend negotiations.
The union said its contract will set a precedent across the state.
“These final few sessions will have statewide implications by setting the tone for how Graduate Assistants across the state ‘won’t back down’ and will continue fighting for livable wages and a better life,” GAU said in a statement.
Union leaders are expected to return to the bargaining table on April 18, where they expect UF to bring a counterproposal. They say they aren’t ready to walk away.
“We're pretty happy with the progress we've made,” Britton said. “But we're not happy enough to say we can settle.”
Contact Shaine Davison at sdavison@alligator.org. Follow her on X @shainedavison.
Shaine Davison is a second-year journalism major and the university graduate school and Santa Fe reporter. Outside of classes, she enjoys spending time with friends and studying at coffee shops.
