A push is underway at the UW-Madison to make sure teaching assistants receive better pay.
Coalition for Affordable Public Education co-chairman Joe Salmons says more than a third of the university's graduate students are working for wages that are below the poverty line. He says they're making far less than teaching assistants at competing institutions, which often make two to three times more than what the UW offers.
The average pay for a grad student at the UW-Madison is about $11,000 a year.
Salmons, who is a professor, says teaching assistants play a "crucial role" on campus, and are heavily involved in research and instruction.
