University Workers Union hosts graduate grade-in to highlight their work

There is a population on campus that frequently lives below the poverty line. Despite their long hours, graduate students currently go without dental insurance, and many feel they do not hold the same rights as other workers.

In an effort to make graduate work more visible, the University Workers Union is holding a three-day Graduate Worker Grade-In from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in front of Lenoir Dining Hall.

“Without us sitting down and doing work for seven hours when we have midterms or whatever, classes wouldn't run, papers wouldn't get graded,” said Sarah Miles, a second-year history graduate student. “Things wouldn't happen without the amount of labor we put in.”

Miles said graduate students usually receive a stipend of around $15,000 each year. Additionally, graduate students must pay $900 each semester in student fees, which go toward services mostly beneficial to undergraduates, like athletic games or Carolina Union events. University Workers Union is attempting to reduce or end these fees for graduate students, who don’t regularly use the services.

“I don't need to have some lottery that I can go and put in and maybe get tickets to a game or something that I don't really watch anyway,” said Joe Karlik, a third-year physics graduate student. “I need dental care. I need to be able to go to student health during the summer.”

It is a situation where some graduate students feel they are viewed more as students instead of workers.

“I do think we're in this really liminal space where we're considered students when it's convenient for the University and workers when it's convenient for the University,” said Jenn Howard, a fourth-year English graduate student. “Also what I think is often invisible is that we are people outside of that too.”

One aspect of many graduate students’ lifestyles includes time management and careful financial planning.

“It's living paycheck to paycheck,” Miles said. “It's making sure you're calculating really precisely to make sure you can pay your rent and find your food and do these sorts of things. Feeling bad when you splurge on one beer at happy hour because you probably don't have the money for that and always struggling to find more."

Rather than purchasing costly insurance offered through the graduate school, Howard said she placed her son on Medicare. On top of financial and family obligations, Howard also feels the pressure of her professional responsibilities.

“It’s being a juggler,” Howard said. “Trying to do grading, taking care of students, all of those things and do my own work for my degree is almost impossible.”

The graduate students in the University Workers Union aim to obtain more effective grievance processes, increased autonomy over schedules and transparency at the department and graduate school level. They also want to reduce graduate student fees and receive dental care.

“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Are you doing anything for fall break?’ No, I'm working on my MA and continuing to grade these midterms,” Miles said. “That's all I'm doing. That's all we ever do on breaks. That's the biggest thing undergraduates don't always recognize about the amount of work we do, the type of service we provide the University.”

university@dailytarheel.com