25/09/2025
On September 26, 2001, Temple's board of trustees voted to recognize the Temple University Graduate Students Association (TUGSA).
TUGSA's origins stretch back to April 2, 1997, when the Graduate Association for Teaching and Research held its first meeting.
"Despite teaching the same courses as full-time professors, graduate student employees did not receive the benefits that professors or other University staff received: graduate students received a baseline salary of $10,000, with no health insurance subsidy, no cost of living adjustment, and no grievance procedure." -TUGSA
What followed was a years-long battle for employee status, union recognition, and better working conditions. On February 12, 1999, TUGSA filed for a union election with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB), but it wasn't until October 17, 2000 that the PLRB ruled that graduate students were in fact employees and could unionize. In March 2001, these employees voted 290 to 16 in favor of union representation and were formally recognized by the university in September. On May 18, 2002, TUGSA members ratified their first contract, becoming the first graduate student employee union in Pennsylvania to do so.
