The Stanford Graduate Workers Union (SGWU) is set to begin a strike on Tuesday if they are unable to reach an agreement with university administration regarding pay increases and improved worker protections.

Nearly 90% of the unions 2,300 members who voted chose to authorize the strike, with 94% rejecting Stanford’s recent contract offer, which proposed a 12% salary increase over three years and “expanded benefits.” The offer was deemed “insufficient” by the union, which represents over 3,400 graduate students in teaching assistant and research roles.

“After a full year of negotiations on their first contract, Stanford University has failed to make sufficient movement on key priorities including a living wage, guaranteed funding, improved benefits, and protections against discrimination, harassment, bullying, and power abuse at work,” the union stated in a press release.

Among SGWUs demands are pay increases of 14% to 16% in the first year of the new contract, with additional raises in subsequent years. The union has cited exorbitant housing costs in the Bay Area and high inflation over the past several years as central reasons for the need for better wages.

The union warns that a strike could disrupt the university’s teaching and research functions if an agreement is not reached. Teaching assistants would suspend review and discussion sessions, office hours, and labs, while grading assignments would be paused. Additionally, many of Stanford’s seminars and symposia, which rely on graduate workers, could face cancellations.

“While Stanford is still refusing to offer a living wage, SGWU has made progress on negotiations around other key benefits, including support for healthcare costs, immigration expenses for international workers, and, most recently, publishing planned on-campus rent increases for the duration of the proposed contract,” the union said. “This would allow SGWU’s Bargaining Committee to tie wage increases to the cost of on-campus housing.”

In a public letter, Provost Jenny Martinez stated that the university had not seen a reasonable economic offer from the union.

The university has put forward a fair and competitive contract offer for graduate student workers, including a salary increase of at least 12% over a three-year period and expanded benefits, Martinez said, adding that the offer was “the highest among Ivy Plus peers.”

“We respect UE-SGWU’s right to hold its strike authorization vote, but we hope the union will focus on progress at the negotiating table so that graduate workers can realize the benefits of a contract agreement in a timely way,” Martinez said.

Martinez also emphasized that those who participate in the strike “will not receive salary.

University spokesperson Dee Mostofi separately told this news organization that Stanford is prepared to continue classes if the strike goes ahead on Tuesday.

The university takes seriously our obligation to preserve the continuity of learning and research to the greatest extent possible during a strike. If a strike occurs as announced by the union, classes and other university operations will continue, Mostofi said on Monday. We have been working to help faculty and instructors plan for the possibility of a strike in order to support continuity.

Martinez pointed out that the above-market pay requested by SGWU could be unfair to other campus unions, including SEIU 2007, which represents Stanford’s service workers.

SEIU 2007 reached a new bargaining agreement with the university last September.

Although the exact details of the new contract remain vague, an Aug. 31 announcement stated that the agreement covers wages, benefits, and working conditions for SEIU-represented employees in various roles, including food service workers, custodians, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, life science technicians, and accelerator technologists across the university.

Last August, both SEIU and SGWU published a letter in The Stanford Daily expressing solidarity with each other in their separate contract negotiations with the university.

The union has not responded to requests for comment.

In response to the potential loss of income for striking workers, SGWU has established a strike fund to provide financial support for those affected.

In a social media post, the union reiterated its determination to strike, stating, We are striking because strikes work.

“We will be following in the footsteps of other universities where grad workers went on strike and won a fair contract. We’re ready to strike together,” the union said.