Add your name here to join thousands of GSWs in ratifying our initial bargaining demands 
 
The Graduate Student Workers (GSWs) at the University of Southern California (USC) have written the following set of initial bargaining demands. These demands, and ultimately a contract, are meant to improve the lives and working conditions of academic workers at USC, to improve research and education at USC, and to transform the University’s relationship with USC’s employees and the surrounding communities. Please take a moment to read through and add your name below!
Fair Compensation and Benefits 

Improve Compensation 
●   Salary, Compensation, and Cost of Living: Increase minimum compensation to reflect GSW contributions and address local cost of living/inflation.
●   Timely and Consistent Pay: Implement transparent and reliable pay structures.
●   Remit or Waive Fees: Remove all fees and any instances of tuition payments.

Guarantee Healthcare Access and Affordability
●   Family and Dependent Healthcare: Support healthcare for workers’ dependents and working parents with childcare subsidies, dependent healthcare premium remissions, lactation support, and paid family leave.
●   Improve Health Benefits: Improve healthcare benefits, including reproductive, mental health, and gender-affirming care, and reduce costs.

Expand and Provide Benefits 
●   Housing: Provide support for GSW housing, including subsidies. 
●   Improve Parking and Transit Benefits: Improve parking and transportation incentives, including free access to public transportation.
●   Holidays, Vacation, and Leave: Improve and expand all forms of time off.
Create a Just and Equitable Workplace

International, Immigrant, and First-Generation Student Workers
●   Visa and Legal Support: Timely handling of immigration related documents and adequate and free legal support for visa and tax assistance, including workshops and orientations for new international student-workers.
●   Boarding: Provide individual boarding support for first-year students. 
●   Language Support: Improve availability of translation services and training/courses
●   First Generation Support: Increase resources and mentorship opportunities. 

Protections from Harassment, Discrimination, and Abusive Conduct/Bullying
●   Independent Investigations: Autonomous processes from USC/Title IX.
●   Interim Measures: Provide enforceable remedies for workers while grievances are ongoing, including transitional funding to change advisors/programs.
●   Enforceable Protections: Establish a neutral, transparent, timely, and survivor-centered grievance process.
●   Systemic Change: Establish programs that proactively address harms.

Disability Justice, Accessibility, and Accommodations
●   Access Rights: Guarantee accommodations for GSWs with disabilities.
●   Funding and Facilities: Proactively reach out to and provide adequate resources and facilities to meet GSWs’ needs
Job Security and Workplace Rights for Student-Workers 

Workplace and Community Health and Safety
●   Workspace Support: Provide personal protective equipment, accessible workspace and materials, and guaranteed workers’ compensation coverage.
●   Health and Safety: Provide intersectional and equitable measures for workplace safety that address patterns of disadvantage and discrimination with transparency and accountability.

Appointment Lengths, Notifications, Workload and Job Security 
●   Appointment Notifications and Descriptions: Guarantee timely notifications for appointments and clear descriptions of duties.
●   Hiring and Appointment Lengths: Ensure fair hiring processes and longer appointment lengths. 
●   Workload: Protect against unreasonable and arbitrary workloads or scheduling. 
●   Job Security: Provide protections from unjust discipline and layoffs.

Career and Professional Development
●   Professional Development: Increase professional development resources, including travel and program required expenses.
●   Career Mentorship: Establish guidelines for review of career development and adequate mentoring.
Union Rights 

Classifications 
●   Recognition: Recognize all grad student employee titles, including all fellows.
Union Security, Access, and Rights
●   Access and Security: Respect our right to maintain and build our union through strong union security and workplace access. 
Grievance and Arbitration
●   Resolution Procedures: Guarantee an expeditious process to grieve violations of this contract, and the right to appeal to independent, third party arbitration if a resolution cannot be reached in a timely manner.
Right to Respect the Picket Line
●   Sympathy Strikes: Allow workers to respect picket lines without discipline or retaliation.
Shared Decision-Making
●   GSW Representation: Include impacted GSWs in all relevant University bodies making policy decisions from accessibility, abusive conduct to safety.

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* 1. I support these initial bargaining demands

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* 2. Contact information

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* 3. Get involved

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* 4. Any feedback or comments?

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