Expressing Philadelphia City Council's support for graduate student workers at Temple University and urging Temple University to return to the table and bargain a fair and equitable contract with its graduate student workers.

WHEREAS, The Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) is the labor union representing teaching assistants, research assistants, and graduate assistants at Temple University since 1997, the only recognized union of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering the wages, benefits, and working conditions of graduate student workers at Temple expired almost a year ago; and

WHEREAS, The negotiations between TUGSA and Temple have failed to reach a solution resulting in TUGSA ultimately making the difficult decision to go out on strike starting January 31, 2023; and

WHEREAS, The current living wage for an individual in the City of Philadelphia is $38,000 per year, while the average graduate student worker at Temple makes $19,500; and

WHEREAS, Temple’s mission stresses the importance of “providing access to an excellent, affordable higher education that prepares students for careers, further learning and active citizenship”; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia has a long-standing history of strong labor unions that help maintain good wages, benefits, and working conditions for unionized workplaces in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Temple is an important engine for education and social improvement ranging from its campus on North Broad Street to locales and spaces around the world; and

WHEREAS, An equitable contract will benefit not only Temple University graduate student workers, but also improve the education of undergraduate students who attend Temple thereby improving Temple University as a whole and all graduate student workers in Philadelphia seeking to secure living wages, family benefits, and better working conditions; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Philadelphia, Expresses support for graduate student workers at Temple University and urges Temple University to return to the table and bargain a fair and equitable contract with their graduate student workers.

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