2026 Bargaining Blog: Sessions 0-2

On Friday, May 29, your union met with the FSU Board of Trustees to open the 2026 bargaining season. In this initial Session 0, we set the ground rules for negotiations with the Board. As this bargaining season is not full-book, we will only be opening select articles of our contract. We will be specifically focusing on Articles 16 and 22, which deal with Health Insurance and Stipends respectively.

In Bargaining Session 1, on Friday, June 12, we presented our proposals to the Board of Trustees: full health insurance premiums coverage for 0.5 FTE employees, a 6.4% increase to the minimum stipend—bringing the current minimum amount of $19,075 to $20,295—and a 3.8% increase to all graduate assistant stipends to keep up with the rate of inflation. Your bargaining committee worked diligently to prepare and present these proposals to the Board, creating a compelling case for our asks based on not only the interest of GAs, but those of FSU at large. The Board was unprepared to respond to our proposals and concluded the session with plans to counter in the next session.

After a couple weeks of attempting to meet for Session 2 with the Board, they finally agreed to meet with us on Monday, June 29th. In response to your union's thoroughly researched and modest proposals, the Board of Trustees countered with no increase to health insurance coverage and a 0% increase for all GA stipends, vaguely citing "budgetary restrictions" as their rationale. We know that FSU has more than enough to pay its GAs adequately, and this excuse is just another way that the Board devalues the essential labor that GAs provide the university.

While we are disappointed and disgusted by the Board of Trustee's insulting counter offer to our reasonable proposal, your bargaining team is committed to advocating for your financial needs. We will continue to fight for the respect and compensation we are owed for the crucial work we as GAs perform for the university.

That being said, it is critical that we have the full support of the union as we continue to negotiate with the Board on your behalf. There are numerous ways you can get involved with the bargaining effort and put pressure on the Board to take us seriously. Attend the Bargaining Committee meetings held on Thursdays at 11 AM on Zoom (link in Discord). Submit an impact statement about the financial difficulties you've experienced as a GA by filling out this Google Form. Finally, show up at our Bargaining Sessions with the Board of Trustees to show them our power in numbers. You can also join via Zoom here.

Our next session will be Friday, July 10 at 3:30 PM at 493 Stadium Drive. Your bargaining team will be responding to the Board's abysmal counter, so come out and show the Board that we refuse to be disrespected and discounted.

In solidarity,

Elijah Noonan

PhD Student

Department of English

Bargaining Co-Chair