Wages, Benefits, and Cost of Living Adjustments
Wages and Cost of Living Adjustments
We demand a wage that keeps up with inflation, and we want to ensure pay equity between Teaching Fellows (TFs) and Research Assistants (RAs). Currently, for 10-months of 20 hours/week, RAs are paid $40,830 while TFs are paid $26,300. We are asking for a 12-month base wage equivalent of $55,000 for ALL workers, so that we can keep living and working in Boston, where the average rent for graduate workers in $1600/month. We are asking that hourly workers base wage increases to $25/hour.
We also are asking for raises that keep up with inflation for the life of the contract: 5% raises or the inflation rate, whichever is higher.
Benefit Funds
In 2025 alone, HGSU administered $2.75 million in benefit funds the offset costs for childcare, dental, dependent insurance, healthcare, non-citizen expenses, and emergency for student workers. The demand for benefits ($3.3 million) FAR exceeded the amount Harvard was willing to provide.
We are advocating for expanded benefit funds of $3.6 million across all our funds. These include fully covered dental premiums, paid family and medical leave, year-long eligibility for every year that you work in-unit.
For hourly workers, we are also asking to lower the hourly requirement for benefit fund eligibility so that more of our in-unit workers can receive the benefits they deserve!
