collective thinking

UC pitches their proposed wage increases for academic workers as "highly competitive". But have you wondered what these wages would look like if increased by the same % over time as UC employers, including your boss? You can do this now using ucmywages.com 1/n

to all faculty who sympathize with students for being overworked/underpaid: i invite you to talk to your colleagues to organize solutions. if at least 10 faculty each gave $100/month to a mutual aid fund, imagine the safety net we could create. at least 9k over an academic year

@henhousesinger is this data available? would love to explore how to visualize departmental disparities

@christina_hbr @saulivanx @AlyxVolzer Our error at the moment, given the inaccuracy of our data, would likely encompass and exceed rent burden for average rent of shared homes. We also would to add that everyone in collective thinking has roommates and yet will remain rent burdened by the end of the TAd proposal

@collthinking420 @saulivanx @AlyxVolzer Like I said, I don't advocate for our inability to afford living in a studio. I'm just pointing out that this serves a political purpose, but isn't very practical for grad workers (who are able to live w/ roommates) evaluating if the TA is enough to survive for the next 2.5 years

We believe a contract should be weighed by its merits, including whether wages will pull workers out of rent burden. Our new ucmywages.com rent burden tracker shows that by 10/2024, only 1 position (Teaching Fellow) at 1 campus (UC Merced) will escape rent burden.

@christina_hbr @saulivanx Hey @christina_hbr, we recommend reading the above comment thread for a brief discussion about coping with poverty wages by sharing living spaces We’ll also point out that, as @AlyxVolzer said earlier, our data is underestimating current market rates by ~40%

@christina_hbr @saulivanx twitter.com/alyxvolzer/sta…

@AlyxVolzer Sweet, thanks for the suggestions. We will add that! Also just want to be clear that we're open to any feedback, suggestions, data/support at any point. This is an evolving project and we are always slight tweaks/edits!

@collthinking420 thats understandable. the census site is f'd almost beyond use. it would be good to provide a note on the methodology saying it is *predictive data based on pre-pandemic economic trends and real time economic data suggests our estimates are approx 40% below market conditions.*

@AlyxVolzer Hey Alyx, we did not have time to scrape new data, so went with the HUD data curated by UC strike organizers. We can put this on a list of tasks but wanted to get some estimate of rent burden out before the vote ends tomorrow. If you have time to help we'd love the support!

@collthinking420 i mean, all raw census data is available on census.gov (which admittedly, Trump f'd up its user friendly interface real good) and can be correlated with private data like Zillow.

@AlyxVolzer Hey Alyx, thanks. We recognize this is predicted data but it was the best source we were aware of. We'd love to have the most accurate data available, would you mind sending us resources or even the raw data if you have it?

@collthinking420 so for UCD, HUD predicted 2021 rent to be 1147 but actual census data on rent was $1635. thus living wage based on predictive data is $45,828 but using real econ data is $65,334. real adjusted rent burden 4 Davis is abt what the rent burden distribution is for UCLA on this graph

#FairUCNow #UAWOnStrike #COLA4All

There is only 1 day remaining to vote on this TA'd contract. We hope @sruuaw and @uaw2865 workers consider whether their contract will provide wages sufficient for housing and other living expenses, especially in the midst of the California housing crisis.

@HayleyBounds @neurokev @sruuaw @uaw2865 Posted graph represents 9-m ASE and 12-m GSR for UC proposals. Summer ASE funding is not guaranteed under UC's proposals but was in UAW's. We updated the tracker to reflect 12-month ASEs with that stipulation. Even assuming summer $, UAW has moved 2x more than UC for ASE wages

As we continue with mediation and consider our proposed wages, we find it important to see how much the @sruuaw @uaw2865 vs the UC has moved on the bargaining table. Our ucmywages.com proposal tracker allows you to easily visualize the disparity in wage movement:

At a UCLA department townhall that took place *immediately* before the BT's vote to TA, at least half of department reps expressed serious concern about the speed of the TA/ratification process. A thread 1/

@newearthlove Not just you whatsoever, that's exactly what has happened

@collthinking420 Is it me or does the graph basically show that UAW has reduced their salary request significantly, to be closer to UC’s offer? It’s not even “halfway”.

#FairUCNow #UAWonStrike

We believe in fighting for an equitable academic system where one can survive, support a family, and invest in their futures while attending graduate school. We hope this tool allows striking workers to keep a livable and just wage at the center of their discourse.