2026 Bargaining Blog: Session 3

Yesterday, Friday July 10, your union met with the FSU Board of Trustees to present our counter-offer to their insulting proposal of 0% raises to stipends, health insurance subsidies, and fee relief. I am proud of the determination and solidarity the union demonstrated today, as over three dozen members showed up to the bargaining session in-person and over Zoom! To all who showed up yesterday, taking time out of your busy schedules in the middle of a summer day to support your bargaining team, I give you my sincerest gratitude. Your presence made a statement to the Board that FSU GAs will not be disrespected and that we will not back down until they take our good-faith bargaining seriously!

Your bargaining team, committed to fighting for the fair financial compensation we deserve as FSU GAs, offered the Board our original proposal of a 6.4% increase to the minimum stipend, a 3.8% increase to all GA stipends, and full health insurance coverage. We justified this reasonable proposal once again, appealing to this mock budget based on the average monthly living expenses of a typical GA. With this budget, we showed that GAs living on the minimum stipend have a monthly deficit of about $1000. We then shared impact statements from GAs to illustrate how this financial burden negatively impacts grad students' wellbeing, their ability to produce quality work for the university, and FSU's ability to stay competitive with other R1 universities. Your union emphasized to the Board how our proposal is in the best interest of not only GAs, but the university as a whole.

In response to our proposal, the Board countered with a one-time bonus of 1% of GAs' current stipends. For GAs on the minimum stipend, this comes out to a little under $200 after taxes. When pushed on their justification for countering with this offer, the Board was unable to provide a response, nor were they able to support their offer with financial data from FSU's budget.

While we are glad that the Board attempted to counter with something rather than nothing, we are still disappointed by their apparent disregard for FSU GAs that they demonstrate with this measly offer. When confronted with both quantitative and qualitative data of the financial hardships that FSU GAs face and the significant advantage to the university that higher stipends would provide, the Board callously counters with their pocket change, providing no rationale for why they cannot meet our fair proposal. Despite the Board's continual contempt for GAs, I am nevertheless encouraged by the resilience and persistence that our union displayed yesterday to fight for our financial needs.

Again, thank you to all who attended the bargaining session today and for all who continue to support the bargaining effort. Our next bargaining session has not yet been scheduled, but we will share the date and time on this site, our social media, and Discord as soon as it is. Please continue to show up as we continue to advocate for you. We are determined to win, but we can only succeed with your support.

In Solidarity,

Elijah Noonan

PhD Student

Department of English

Bargaining Co-Chair