The union representing Georgetown University graduate students signed a tentative labor deal with the university, securing raises and new health benefits for students who work as teaching and research assistants. 

The Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees said it reached a three-year contract agreement with the university Friday, that boosts stipends and hourly wages for 1,000 graduate students. It is the first union contract for graduate students at Georgetown.

“This is a big deal in making Georgetown a place that anyone can consider to come to do their Ph.D.,” said Jewel Tomasula, a doctoral student who sits on the union’s bargaining committee. “Without this contract, you really had to have independent wealth or all these safety nets.” 

Tomasula said she shares a one-bedroom apartment with her spouse in Rosslyn, Va., that costs over $2,000 a month in rent — more than her monthly pay as a graduate assistant. She said her work contract with the university bars her from having another job.

Union members are expected to approve the contract in a vote early next week. The alliance of Georgetown graduate students is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest teachers union. 

Nationally, graduate students at private universities have fought in recent years for recognition as workers. In addition to taking classes, graduate students often assist faculty members or help instruct undergraduate students.

In 2016, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate students at private universities who work as teaching or research assistants are employees entitled to collective bargaining rights. But the board, under the Trump administration, is considering reversing the rule and has proposed forbidding graduate students at private universities from unionizing. 

Graduate students at Georgetown voted to unionize in 2018, opting to have the American Arbitration Association oversee the vote instead of the National Labor Relations Board.

A university spokesperson declined to answer specific questions about the deal, but issued a statement saying the university is pleased with the agreement. 

“We are grateful for the leadership and collaboration shown by both parties in order to reach an agreement in these challenging times,” the statement read. 

Under the agreement, research and teaching assistants would receive a 2 percent wage increase each year. 

Doctoral students would receive a minimum stipend of $35,500 for 12 months of work and $32,500 for nine months. Hourly wages for students pursuing master’s degrees would jump to $19.50 per hour, up from $13.50 per hour, according to the union.

The contract provides a dental insurance plan the union said will make preventative care and major procedures more affordable, and a health plan that lowers students’ out-of-pocket costs. The union also secured a new procedure to report sexual harassment and discrimination. 

Some graduate students struggle to pay for more than one meal a day or have skipped medical procedures they could not afford, said Daniel Solomon, a political science doctoral student who is on the union’s bargaining committee.

“Workers decided that they wanted an additional voice in the university’s decision making around these issues,” he said.