A tentative agreement that will benefit student workers has been made between United Auto Workers and the California State University system.

This issue was pressed due to academic student employees only receiving a paycheck of around $1,000 a month. Students were expected to pay for their tuition, books and other fees with their paycheck and still live comfortably.

A study was done by California State University researchers that showed 10 percent of CSU students are homeless and 25 percent don’t know where their next meal is coming from, according to the union’s press release.

Chico State’s numbers are much higher at 40 percent. This issue was finally addressed when the union met with the California State University Board of Trustees to negotiate higher pay, benefits for students, tuition waivers and much more.

The agreement includes the following:

· Improved annual wage increases to all members of the bargaining unit

· Improved workload protections to ensure pay for all hours worked

· Paid hours and no fees for those doing the work of a teacher

· Improved gender equity issues relating to all gender bathrooms and lactation stations

· Improved union access fronts

Kyla Linville can be reached at [email protected] or @kyla_linville on Twitter.