Stanford students express solidarity with graduate workers ahead of the strike

Students expressed solidarity with the Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU) amid a tumultuous week for union-university relations. Last week the SGWU voted to authorize a strike, which was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday canceled after the union and the university reached a preliminary agreement on Tuesday evening.

Many students, whose classes are often staffed by graduate students, argued that the university should meet the union’s demands and reiterated concerns about affordability.

Andrew Song ’25 said there are inconsistencies between the university’s claims that it paid graduate workers fair wages and its claims that it paid graduate workers fair wages. reportbased on a 2022 college cost survey. The report found that “74% of doctoral students experienced financial stress while studying at Stanford” and 23% reported that “they were short of money in the past 30 days and were trying to to make food or food money last longer.”

Song also mentioned that of an SGWU member claim that Stanford’s calculations of graduate students’ food budgets were 23% lower than the cost of eating in the university’s own dining halls.

The university has stressed that minimum wages for graduate workers are higher than those of comparable institutions, including Ivy League schools. SWGU has countered that the cost of living at Stanford is significantly higher than at other universities, citing each metropolitan area’s Very Low Income Level (VLIL) measure as defined by the Department of Housing & Urban Development.

However, the university has done so claimed that VLILs are “a measure of relative income, not cost” and that an accurate assessment of cost of living begins with “monetizing” Stanford benefits such as subsidized housing. The university claims that it is ultimately difficult to make such an assessment “as the value of the benefits varies depending on the individual student’s situation.”

Several students said the university’s comparisons to Ivy League schools and the definition of “accurate” cost-of-living estimates are excuses for not meeting union demands.

“I think it’s kind of an agent of the university to say, look at us, we’re doing better than the other universities,” said Mandarava Kaiya Jamyangling-Kawaguchi ’27. “Because the bottom line is that even if you do better than other places, it’s not enough for the people who are affected, like the graduate students.”

Neev Kamal Seedani ’28 said the university has hyperanalyzed minor aspects of SGWU’s claims.

“What I see here is Stanford saying, ‘Hey, we don’t care about these other metrics because they’re not directly relevant to how we calculate stipends and support,’” Seedani said. “Which, again, is a way to sidestep the real concern here, which is that living near Stanford is a lot more expensive.”

University spokesperson Luisa Rapport did not immediately respond to the students’ criticism. In an email to The Daily, Rapport instead cited sources, including cost-of-living calculations, about the university’s Graduate Student Unionization. website.

The university has also claimed that meeting the union’s demands would reduce available research funds.

Most students said that even if research funding were reduced, it is more important to increase wages for graduate workers.

“I would prefer there to be fewer Research Fellowships available if it means people can eat,” Song said.

Seedani cited the university’s donation as a potential source of additional funding. Seedani said Stanford has more money “that they don’t want to tap into because at the end of the day, Stanford is a business.”

Stanford reinvests a large portion of endowment income to cover future college costs, and certain rules also limit how endowment funds can be used. However, Song said the university could still increase wages.

“I know the donations are going in different directions, but I find it hard to believe (that the university can’t increase wages for graduates). If there’s a will, there’s a way. We have no economy here.”

“The university is probably spending a lot of money in other areas where they could reduce those expenditures and instead prioritize research and education because that’s what a university is for,” Madary said.