UCSC grades are due but graduate student grade strike continues

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Hundreds of graduate student workers are standing in solidarity as they push for a pay raise from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Student instructors and teaching assistants are on a grade strike, which means they are refusing to submit final grades until their demands are met.

The students are demanding a $1,412-a-month cost of living adjustment. The students say what they get paid now is not enough to pay for rent, groceries and other livable needs. Currently, student workers receive about $2,400 a month for their work as a teacher assistant or student instructor.

The deadline for grades to be submitted is Wednesday, but the strike is still in effect and there’s no sign anything will change by 11:59 p.m.

Tonight at 5 and 6 p.m. on KION, Drew Andre speaks with the university about their plan to get grades in, and if it will be done on time so undergraduate students aren’t affected.