USF denies graduate assistant pay raises, forces wait until summer

The University of South Florida rejected a request from its Graduate Assistants Union for immediate pay raises and stipend negotiations last week. The university’s bargaining team informed the union that the Board of Trustees had not approved any wage increases. Instead, the school told union members they must wait until the budget is finalized to discuss pay. That process could extend as far as July.

Tessa Barber, the president of the Graduate Assistants Union, described the decision as a departure from the agreement signed last year. She said the union had understood it would be able to negotiate pay for the 2026-2027 school year once the time came. When that time arrived this month, the university shifted the timeline significantly. Barber called the move offensive and disrespectful to the financial struggles of graduate assistants.

Graduate assistants are required to work a minimum of 40 hours per week in learning and teaching roles. Barber noted that more than a quarter of classes at USF are taught by these students. She also stated that graduate assistants generate hundreds of millions of dollars in research revenue for the university. Despite this contribution, she said their pay has remained stagnant while the cost of living rises.

Barber pointed to rising housing, food, and gas prices as factors contributing to financial insecurity among graduate assistants. She explained that many assistants rely on outside service industry jobs to make ends meet. The university has recently begun cracking down on that practice, making it harder for students to work outside the campus without risking their positions.

USF President Moez Limayem addressed the stipend issue at a town hall earlier this year. He acknowledged that current stipends are not high enough. However, he also stated that graduate assistants are not supposed to live entirely on their stipends. This comment aligns with the university’s current stance on delaying wage negotiations.

The union’s status is now complicated by state law. The Graduate Assistants Union organized in 1980, making it one of the oldest graduate assistant unions in the country. A new law, SB 1296, passed this year, makes it harder to form and maintain unions. The law requires half of all workers to vote in a union election for it to be valid. A legislative staff analysis found that this requirement could violate the state Constitution.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for November 13 at 10 a.m. on the USF campus. The session will be open to the public.