Dive Brief:

• A union representing 1,500 graduate teaching assistants at the University of Oregon negotiated a new contract with the school in a 22-hour mediation session, ending an eight-day strike.
• The new two-year contract with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation sets up a $150,000 financial hardship fund for grad students and paid medical and family leave for the teaching assistants.
• The teaching assistants went back to work on Wednesday, and the university reported that it had made extensive contingency plans so that no final exams were canceled.

Dive Insight:

As with most union contracts, this may set a precedent for labor unions at other colleges and universities. David Rives, the president of the American Federation of Teachers in Oregon, called the new contract “a monumental achievement for workers across all campuses.” Among the contract details: Hourly wages will increase 5% in both years of the contract, rising to $20 to $24 per hour, depending on experience. Any grad student, regardless of union membership, can apply for grants from the hardship fund — up to $1,000 for serious medical issues and $1,500 for birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child. And the teaching assistants are also guaranteed flex time to take two weeks of family or medical leave, without losing their pay, if they make up the time over a three- to nine-month period. The strike started because negotiations had stalled on the issue of medical and maternity leave benefits.