EAST LANSING, Mich. — MSU's Graduate Employees Union rallied for a living wage on Thursday.
Dozens of students rallied in front of the Hannah Administration Building on the Michigan State campus.
The union is demanding a reasonable response from the university on their contract proposals for wage increases.
It claims graduate assistants at the school are currently making the minimum stipend.
The union also says that Michigan State University trails other Big 10 schools in its pay scale, and that graduate assistants make less than three-quarters of a living wage for this area.
Some graduate assistants report that they are spending approximately 60-percent of their income on rent.
According to the union many of the students meet the federal classification of "severely rent burdened."
News 10 reached out to MSU for a comment on these issues, but has not yet received a response.
Graduate employees say that university officials are not genuinely addressing these issues at the bargaining table.
They plan to continue their protest by erecting dozens of tents and tarps in front of the Hannah Building and occupying them overnight.
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