Recent DGSU Wins
🚨MASSIVE WIN ALERT🚨
Did you see the news? The Graduate School promises to pay us $38K starting next year & cheaper parking, only one day before our 9/15 rally for a fair contract.
Pressure. Works.
Let’s keep it up.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments & 12-month stipends
In April 2019, Duke announced their commitment to pay all PhD students a 12-month, 5-year stipend totaling $31,600 beginning in 2022! However, the cost of living in Durham continues to increase. All graduate workers deserve a contract with a guaranteed annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
In August 2022, Duke announced it would be paying graduate workers a one-time payment of $500 to offset costs of living. Using a petition with over 100 signatures and a planned Labor Day rally, DGSU demanded transparency and a higher cost of living. A week later, the Graduate School announced more transparency in its $500 payment plan (to be distributed in October). Transparency FTW!
On August 31, Dean McLean announced that “University leaders expect to reach a decision on specific actions [regarding significant stipend increases] by the end of September”, once again obscuring important financial decisions from graduate workers. We have pushed admin to action, but stringing us along with obscure promises of future raises is not enough!
Parking Fees
In August 2022, Duke Parking announced a $20 fee for nights-and-weekends passes, which were previously free. DGSU sent around a petition and staged a 60+ email blast to the graduate school, and less than a week later the fee was dropped. Then, just as we return in the new year, Duke Parking announced a further reduction in the annual parking permit rate for graduate and professional students of 41%. This is not enough — we shouldn't have to pay to work at Duke!
Dental Care
In June 2021, Duke announced that graduate students working at Duke would have the ability to buy into the Bright Dental Plan, which gives access to discounted services, like cleanings, at Duke’s Campus Smiles office. However, this plan is far from adequate dental insurance. It does not even cover crucial dental care like root canals. Join us to hold Duke administrators accountable!
Anti-Racism
In October 2020, DGSU sent our demands for an anti-racist Duke to Duke Administrators. In response, Duke announced the formation of a task force to recommend how Duke could become a more inclusive campus. In June of 2021, President Price announced that the task force had published this webpage and had completed its work. But anti-racism work at Duke has just begun; we need to demand more of our administration!
Healthcare
In 2017, Duke tried to take away free gym access for 4th and 5th year students, but DGSU fought with petitions, editorials, and action. The Graduate School quickly reversed this decision.
In 2018, Duke proposed to remove dependent coverage and added expensive deductibles to our healthcare plan; we fought that too. When we fight, we win!