UAW 2865 Framework to Address Cost of Living Issues Facing ASEs at the
University of California
THE PROBLEM:
ASEs Are Caught In a Rent Burden Crisis
● The vast majority of Academic Student Employees (ASES) are rent-burdened, as ASE
compensation has not kept pace with the skyrocketing cost of on- and off-campus housing across
the UC system.
● According to a 2017 UCOP report, graduate students spend, on average, $1,140 per month on
housing costs (rent plus utilities) UC-wide.1
● In 2019, we estimate that a typical 50% GSI/TA spends between 38% and 60% of their pre-tax
income on housing costs2, depending on campus. ASEs at ​all​ UC campuses are therefore
considered rent-burdened by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.3
Rent Burden Disproportionately Impacts International ASEs
● Restrictive visa rules prevent the vast majority of international ASEs from working more than 20
hours a week on campus, or at any off-campus job, to pay for expenses.
● Additionally, many international graduate students are forced to pay $15,102 annually in
Non-Residential Supplemental Tuition (NRST) as a condition of employment at UC.4
● As a result, many international ASEs incur significant debt while in graduate school to pay for
housing, NRST, and basic living expenses.
Rent Burden is Damaging UC’s Ability to Recruit and Retain Top Graduate Students
● According to findings from UCOP’s 2017 Graduate Student Support Survey, “​The cost of living
differential between UC campuses and non-UC institutions is significant and contributes to UC’s
competitive disadvantage.”5
● When comparing their top-choice UC and non-UC institutions, survey respondents rated
“Availability of Affordable Housing” and “Amount of Financial Support” as the two most negative
factors against attending UC.6
● UCOP’s report concludes that “There is ongoing concern about UC’s ability to attract the best
graduate students – particularly nonresident domestic and international students.”7
THE SOLUTION:
UAW Local 2865 has a three-point proposal to eliminate ASE rent-burden and improve the ability of UC
graduate programs to attract and retain top graduate students: 1) provide all ASEs with a housing stipend

​https://www.ucop.edu/student-affairs/_files/GCOAS%20Report%202017.pdf​, Pg. 4-5.​ This number is
even higher today as rents have only increased since 2017.
2
See the table in the Appendix.
3
​https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/​. ASEs who pay 30% or more
of their income on rent are considered rent-burdened by HUD.
4
​https://www.ucop.edu/operating-budget/_files/fees/201920/2019-20.pdf
5
​https://www.ucop.edu/student-affairs/_files/GSSS%20report%202017.pdf​, Pg. 4
6
​https://www.ucop.edu/student-affairs/_files/GSSS%20report%202017.pdf​, Pg. 21
7
​https://www.ucop.edu/student-affairs/_files/GSSS%20report%202017.pdf​, Pg. 22
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 to eliminate rent burden; 2) eliminate rent burden in existing on-campus housing; and 3) build more
affordable, on-campus social housing.
Provide all ASEs With a Housing Stipend to Eliminate Rent Burden
● Given the lack of affordable housing stock on each campus, UC must provide ASEs with a
housing stipend calibrated to the cost of housing facing ASEs on each campus in order to
address the immediate rent-burden crisis.
● There is precedent at UC for providing housing stipends to student employees: UC has already
agreed to housing stipends in collective bargaining with medical interns and residents at UCSD8,
UCLA9, and UCSF10.
● The housing stipend for each campus should equal the amount of additional compensation –
factoring in the cost of unremitted mandatory student fees, which ASEs must pay as a condition
of employment, and the average amount graduate students on each campus pay in housing costs
– needed to bring the typical 50% FTE Teaching Assistant out of rent burden.
● This calculation yields a monthly housing stipend of the following amounts for each campus:
2,344​ (Berkeley), $​1,553​ (Davis), $​1,084​ (Irvine), ​$2,629​ (Los Angeles), $​770​ (Merced), ​1,234
(Riverside), $​1,422​ (San Diego), $​1,808​ (Santa Barbara), $​2,285​ (Santa Cruz). See the appendix
for more details on these calculations.
● We propose that the University increase these housing stipends on a yearly basis to ensure that
ASEs do not become rent burdened as a result of future increases in housing costs.
Eliminate rent burden in existing on-campus housing
● The vast majority of ASEs who live in UC on-campus housing still experience rent burden.
Currently, the only on-campus units at UC which do not leave 50% FTE TAs rent burdened are
Russell Park (3-bedroom) at UC-Davis, ​One Miramar Half ​and Rita Atkinson Half11 at UC-San
Diego, Verano Place (3-bedroom) at UC-Irvine, and University Village (3 Bedroom Family
Housing) at UCLA. Very few ASEs have access to live in one of these units.
● UC must reduce the rent at its housing units to rates that eliminate the rent burden currently
experienced by on-campus ASE tenants.
Build more affordable, on-campus social housing
● Given the lack of affordable on-campus housing, the majority of ASEs are forced to find housing –
often far away from campus – in the private market, where rental rates are skyrocketing across
the state.
● UC must also address the rent burden crisis by dramatically increasing the amount of affordable
on-campus social housing so that all ASEs have the option of living on-campus without rent
burden.

​https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/m6/docs/m6_2018-2021_00_complete.pdf​,
Section 20
9
​https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/m4/index.html​, Article 12
10
​https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/m2/index.html​, Article 27
11
However, Rita Atkinson is being converted to undergraduate-only housing at the end of the 2019-20
academic year.
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 Appendix
We calculate the monthly housing stipend needed to bring the typical 50% FTE TA out of rent burden
using the following formula:
Monthly Housing Stipend = (UC Campus’s Average Monthly Graduate Student Housing Cost / 29%) –
(50% FTE Monthly TA Salary – Cost of Unremitted Mandatory Fees, which ASEs must pay as a condition
of employment, converted to monthly payments)
This formula yields a housing stipend amount which, when added to the post-fee monthly TA salary,
ensures that the typical ASE spends only 29% of their income on housing costs, thus eliminating rent
burden. Given that the UCOP report, “Findings from the Graduate and Professional Student Cost of
Attendance Survey 2016-17”, uses 2017 figures to estimate the average housing costs paid by UC
graduate students, we update these costs by assuming that they increased from 2017 to 2019 at the
same rate as the Z
​ illow Rent Index (ZRI) for a​ 3-bedroom apartment in the city in which each UC is
12
located. Table 1 lists the housing stipend amounts that would apply to domestic ASEs and international
ASEs who receive remission of Non-Residential Supplemental Tuition (NRST).
Table 1: Housing Stipend Amounts for Domestic ASEs and International ASEs with NRST
Remission

Campus
Berkeley

Unremitted
Mandatory Fees
paid as a condition
of employment
Post-Fee Monthly
(Monthly Basis)13
TA Salary

Average Monthly
Housing Cost (Rent
+ Utilities) UCOP
Report

Total Monthly
Housing Stipend
Amount Needed
to Eliminate ASE
Rent Burden

$179.61

$2,255.00

$1,333.67

$2,343.88

Davis

$80.90

$2,353.71

$1,133.03

$1,553.27

Irvine

$62.12

$2,372.49

$1,002.31

$1,083.76

$9.59

$2,425.02

$1,465.72

$2,629.20

Merced

$37.44

$2,397.17

$918.42

$769.79

Riverside

$80.02

$2,354.59

$1,040.65

$1,233.87

$175.71

$2,258.90

$1,067.57

$1,422.38

$76.00

$2,358.61

$1,208.17

$1,807.51

$104.23

$2,330.38

$1,338.59

$2,285.45

Los Angeles

San Diego
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz

​https://www.ucop.edu/student-affairs/_files/GCOAS%20Report%202017.pdf​, Zillow Data from
https://www.zillow.com/research/data/​. In cities where 2017 data was unavailable we interpolated using
the 2018 to 2019 growth rate.
13
All fees and salaries are calculated on a monthly basis using a 9-month academic year, so that monthly
fees are total annual fees divided by 9, and monthly pay is $2434.61.
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 Table 2 lists the housing stipend amounts for international ASEs who are forced to pay ​Non-Residential
Supplemental Tuition (NRST)​ as a condition of employment. Their housing stipends are larger because of
the negative impact of NRST on take-home pay. To eliminate rent burden facing international ASEs, the
University must either provide the Table 2 housing stipend amounts or remit NRST and provide the Table
1 amounts.
Table 2: Housing Stipend Amounts for International ASEs ​without​ NRST Remission

Campus

Unremitted
Mandatory Fees Paid
as a condition of
employment,
including NRST
(Monthly Basis)

Post-Fee
Monthly TA
Salary

Average Monthly
Housing Cost (Rent
+ Utilities) UCOP
Report

Total Monthly
Housing Stipend
Amount Needed to
Eliminate Int’l ASE
Rent Burden

Berkeley

$1,857.61

$577.00

$1,333.67

$4,021.86

Davis

$1,758.90

$675.71

$1,133.03

$3,231.29

Irvine

$1,740.12

$694.49

$1,002.31

$2,761.75

Los Angeles

$1,687.59

$747.02

$1,465.72

$4,307.19

Merced

$1,715.44

$719.17

$918.42

$2,447.80

Riverside

$1,758.02

$676.59

$1,040.65

$2,911.86

San Diego

$1,853.71

$580.90

$1,067.57

$3,100.38

Santa Barbara

$1,754.00

$680.61

$1,208.17

$3,485.49

Santa Cruz

$1,782.23

$652.38

$1,338.59

$3,963.45

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