“A Bad April Fool’s Joke”: Duke Admin Lowers Stipend Offer, Graduate Student Union Pushes Back

During April negotiations, Duke University administrators reduced their stipend offer to graduate workers and refused compromise on other key issues, according to the Duke Graduate Student Union (DGSU). The setback for Duke workers comes amid a larger attack on higher education by the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut federal funding and demanded crackdowns on dissent.

On April 1, Duke withdrew a previous stipend proposal of $43,680. Neither the university nor DGSU has disclosed the new offer. One of the main campaigns of the union, which has been recognized since August 2023, has been to achieve annual Ph.D. stipends of $50,000 for graduate workers [1]. That would amount to a living wage for a two-adult, one-child household in Durham County, according to MIT [2]. Currently, Duke stipends are $30,000 in the first year and around $40,000 in the second year and onward [3]. The men’s basketball coach earns about $7 million per year, by comparison.

At an April 1 bargaining session, Duke refused to consider DGSU proposals on protections for international workers against ICE, guarantees for sixth year funding, and safeguards against assault and harassment. Administrators also introduced a “Force Majeure” clause into negotiations, a legal tool that would allow them to violate the union contract at will.

During the next meeting with university officials, on April 10, the DGSU sought to limit the scope of Force Majeure. Workers proposed that the clause would not remove the right to strike, that its use would trigger expedited arbitration, and that Force Majeure would not be exploited to deeply cut stipends (only for cancellation of year-over-year increases), along with other modifications. Duke insisted the clause could be invoked without notice and that the union could not strike in response.

At the April 10 session, the union also reiterated that international students would need increased protection and resources given the government's xenophobic and repressive inclinations. Workers proposed six safeguards that included SEVIS monitoring, legal assistance, and protest protections. Administrators replied only that they were “not looking to walk back anything we’ve committed to”.

In the face of setbacks, DGSU has refocused on “bottom line” demands, which are (1) reinstating the $43,680 stipend offer, (2) securing protections for international workers, and (3) guaranteeing funding security.

Duke has a $12 billion endowment, which undermines any claim it cannot afford a living wage for graduate workers. Inadequate payment of graduate workers persists as an issue not just at Duke but across higher education as a whole. According to CSStipendRankings, the only four universities that pay a stipend in excess of “fees and living” are Brown, Notre Dame, Yale, and Princeton [4].

Labor discontent at Duke extends beyond the graduate student union. From April 14 to 18, Duke facilities workers with AFSCME Local 77 planned protests outside Cameron Stadium and Duke Facilities Management over alleged contract violations.

Duke’s lower stipend offer coincides with the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education. The president has threatened to withhold federal funds from universities unless they agree to numerous demands that include suppression of anti-war students and admission of more right-wing students. Even before such threats, Duke imposed a new “pickets, protests, and demonstrations” policy that constrained unapproved forms of speech and assembly [5].

This article was heavily based on DGSU Bargaining Bulletins.

Work Cited

1. “Duke Graduate Student Union Petitions University to Pay Graduate Workers a Living Wage.” INDY Week, 12 July 2024, www.indyweek.com/news/durham/duke-graduate-student-union-petitions-university-to-pay-graduate-workers-a-living-wage.

2. “Living Wage Calculation for Durham County, North Carolina.” MIT Living Wage Calculation. https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/37063.

3. “Tuition, Fees, and Ph.D. Stipends.” Duke The Graduate School, 27 Aug. 2024, www.gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support/tuition-fees-and-phd-stipends.

4. “CSStipendRankings: PhD Stipend Rankings.” CS Stipend Rankings. https://csstipendrankings.org.

5. “Duke Deploys ‘Pickets, Protests, and Demonstrations’ Policy to Silence Dissent.” Duke Academics and Staff for Justice in Palestine, 8 Jan. 2025, www.dukeforpalestine.org/2025/01/08/duke-ppd-silences-dissent.