UC grad students demand cost-of-living adjustments. Will momentum grow?

At UC Santa Cruz in December, hundreds of teachers assistants (TAs) were pushing for higher wages to keep up with inflation. The school gave them an ultimatum, but more than 70 TAs held firm and walked out altogether. Then UC Santa Cruz fired those assistants, and told dozens of other TAs that they wouldn’t be eligible for any more work at the school.

In recent weeks, TAs at other UC campuses began showing their support of their fellow grad student employees -- with rallies, demonstrations, and walkouts of their own. They’re demanding cost-of-living adjustments for employees of the UC system.