'We want to be paid a living wage': Graduate student workers at UIC go on strike

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Chicago Tribune Yahoo

Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune
Thu, April 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM CDT

Isobel Araujo, a second-year Ph.D. student, earns $24,000 a year as a teaching and resident assistant at the University of Illinois Chicago. Between classes, coursework and dorm duties, she babysits to make ends meet. She’s now searching for new housing on a tight budget.

“It’s really depressing. There’s not a single apartment that we’ve been able to find that you can afford with a wage like that,” Araujo said.

Araujo is one of roughly 2,290 student workers, represented by the UIC Graduate Employees Organization, who went on strike Monday after months of stalled contract talks. The union’s three-year contract expired last August.

The key sticking point in bargaining is wages, members say. Graduate workers fill a wide range of roles at the university, including teaching classes and conducting research.



Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/want-paid-living-wage-graduate-100000510.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93aXJlcG9pbnRzLm9yZy8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANZ8tSouPmOHWGtCKS7grYy7iUPxK96XVOOEgtdn3r459QSgpxrnCq55-lG-RyqLib8TT2l_mIonX0eCzdE4IYjKh29jXxmm3bd2_xIqr17NHV2mvDC2wAzNlWqIyaDcPe4pw6P-nSZDh4q5fHUsIsw82165E3qelNNPIw_ODLiO