UNH Graduate Employees United Escalate Their Fight for a First Contract

On Friday, the University of New Hampshire graduate workers union took their fight for a fair contract to a University System Board of Trustees meeting. The Graduate Employees Union (GEU-UAW) was certified in 2024 after winning an election 455 to 8—but more than two years later, they are still pushing for their first contract.

Sam Crawford, a sociology PhD candidate, told the board he makes about $24,000 a year from his work as a graduate employee with the university—less than half the living wage for a one-person household in the county. So far, UNH has offered only a $1,000 raise across all pay grades, followed by 2% annual increases, an amount that wouldn’t even cover the rising cost of living. Moreover, graduate workers have not gotten any raises during the two years they’ve been negotiating.

“We are still waiting for a fair offer,” Audrey Robison, a PhD student in Space Physics, testified to the board. “We have come here today to ask all of you to urge UNH administrators to offer us a fair contract, so that we can work together towards our common goal of strengthening UNH without the fear of financial insecurity.”

Read more at InDepthNH.org, and follow @geu_unh on Instagram for the latest updates.