USF tells graduate assistants to wait until summer for pay talks

The University of South Florida told its Graduate Assistants Union on Monday that it would not negotiate raises for the current school year. The administration instructed the group to wait until the budget is finalized, a process that may not conclude until July.

This decision came after a year of delays. Tessa Barber, the union president, said the school originally promised negotiations for the 2026 and 2027 academic years. When those talks began this month, the university’s bargaining team stated the Board of Trustees had not approved any pay increases. Barber called the move a violation of the understanding reached in last year’s agreement.

Graduate assistants at USF teach more than a quarter of all classes. Barber noted that their research contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the institution. Despite this labor, many assistants work a minimum of 40 hours per week for pay that has not kept pace with inflation.

Barber described the financial strain on members. She cited rising housing, food, and gas prices. “Housing prices are going up, costs of living are going up, food prices, gas prices,” Barber said. “But our pay has remained stagnant. It hasn’t even kept up with inflation. So graduate assistants are experiencing food and housing insecurity.”

The university has also tightened rules on outside employment. Barber said the school is cracking down on assistants who hold service industry jobs to supplement their income. “So now, not only are wages stagnant and costs rising, but now we’re having more difficulty working outside the university without fear of losing our jobs,” Barber said.

USF President Moez Limayem told students at a town hall earlier this year that stipends are not high enough. However, he also stated that graduate assistants are not supposed to live on their stipends alone. The union, which formed in 1980, faces new challenges under state law SB 1296. That law requires a 50 percent voter turnout for union elections to be valid.

The next bargaining session will be open to the public. It is scheduled for November 13 at 10 a.m. on the USF campus.