No Tiers

What do we mean by No Tiers?

As discussed in our campaign for 12 Months, 6 Year funding, graduate workers are financially burdened. The current "prestige" pay tiers between campuses only compound these burdens: as an example, a Step 1 TA at UCSC makes around 7.3% less than their counterpart at Berkeley, which amounts to between $2,600 - $3,500 in difference annually, depending on whether the TA has access to summer funding. Beyond overcoming an inequitable system that blatantly disregards the high living costs across California, eliminating these tiers between campuses and job titles and lifting lower paid workers to the position of the highest paid would increase financial security and unite student-workers across the UC in a common struggle for fair wages.

Our contract is complicated: too complicated. Every worker is placed on a series of tiers that determine how much they get paid; the differences add up. The highest paid graduate workers make over $15,000/year more than the lowest paid.

The UC uses tiers to systematically divide workers, paying many of us poverty wages while convincing others that the system is fair. It’s not. With our UAW siblings nationally, we demand a 2025 contract without tiers.