In its latest efforts to help end a nearly two-month strike by graduate student workers, Boston University proposed granting all PhD students access to a 12-month stipend, a university leader said Tuesday.

The proposal came during the 25th bargaining session between the university and the graduate worker’s union, said university provost Kenneth Lutchen in an email to BU community members. The strike by graduate workers, who teach classes, grade student work, and conduct research, has impacted classes and university life since late March.

The new 12-month stipend policy would enable all PhD students who were previously on eight-month stipends to work or conduct research over the summer to receive a minimum of $42,159 annually, Lutchen said.

“Students have repeatedly spoken of the challenges of living with an eight-month stipend and how it affects their financial security,” Lutchen said, adding: “We hope that this move at the bargaining table signals our goodwill and seriousness of purpose in moving toward resolution with [Boston University Graduate Workers Union] and reaching an agreement that supports our students.”

The union, which formed in 2022, represents about 3,000 masters, professional, and PhD students and is part of Service Employees International Union Local 509. Its strike calls for stronger health care coverage, pay, and benefits.

David Foley, president of SEIU 509, told the Globe that while the proposal is a “step in the right direction,” it’s a long overdue effort to address the economic insecurity experienced by graduate workers. It excludes hourly workers and does not address the needs of the many graduate workers already struggling to live in Boston on 12-month stipends, Foley said.

“Forty-two thousand dollars is still far from a living wage for any of our members, and we remain committed to fighting for a meaningful end to rent burden and financial insecurity,” Foley said in a statement. “The university has the means — and the obligation — to do better.”

The union said it expects to see more movement from the BU administration now that it has acknowledged graduate workers’ complaints about underpayment.

Currently about 560 grad students remain on strike, according to Rachel Lapal Cavallario, a BU spokesperson. That makes up 20 percent of salaried grad students and 10 percent of hourly ones, she said, according to student and faculty attestation data and hours submitted for hourly students.

As of May 8, about 80 percent of bargaining unit members that receive stipends have been working each week throughout the strike, according to BU’s negotiations team.

Graduate students are currently paid stipends between $27,000 to $40,000, according to the union. The university said these wages are for 20 hours of work per week, while grad workers claim to work more than that.

When the students began striking in March, they asked the school for about a $62,000 stipend, the union said, to which BU said it offered about $42,000. The union declined to counteroffer, BU said. The students are still advocating for the $62,000 stipend, according to the union.

In March, the school also offered to raise the minimum wage to $18 from $15 for hourly workers, and add children under age 6 to the health insurance plan for full-time PhD students.

Graduate workers help grade quizzes and teach lab sessions and supplementary class meetings known as discussion sections. Their absence throughout the strike caused classes and labs to be canceled throughout the semester, several students told the Globe. BU’s spring semester concluded earlier this month, with the summer term beginning on May 21, according to Lapal Cavallario.

The proposal for 12-month stipends came about in part because faculty cited difficulties recruiting PhD students in humanities and social sciences, Lutchen said.

“We appreciate the dedication and patience of everyone involved and are hopeful these efforts will produce significant progress as we head into the summer,” said Lutchen.

Another bargaining session is set to occur in coming weeks.

Material from prior Globe coverage was used in this report.

Esha Walia can be reached at esha.walia@globe.com.

Insider Brief

• QuEra Computing announced it added another building and doubled its space in Boston.
• The company said the move is to address the growth of its business and increased demand for on-premises quantum computers.
• The state-of-the-art facilities will support the research, development and production of multiple quantum computers and provide the office space.

PRESS RELEASE — QuEra Computing, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing technology, today announced it added another building and doubled its space to address the explosive growth of its business and to meet the growing demand for its quantum computers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. QuEra’s locations at 1284 and 1380 Soldiers Field Rd in Boston are state-of-the-art facilities that will support the research, development, and production of multiple quantum computers and provide the office space for the growing QuEra team required to optimally manage QuEra’s expanding customer base. In the first three months of 2024, QuEra signed deals with the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to deliver the most advanced quantum computers on the market and continues to work on additional on-premises deals.

QuEra has achieved a number of significant milestones that have increased the capabilities of its quantum computers, accelerating customer interest usage. These advancements include:

• QuEra’s flagship 256-qubit Aquila system, available globally on a major cloud platform, has expanded its public availability from 10 to over 100 hours per week. Both commercial and academic customers are utilizing this increased availability, leading to a number of breakthroughs.

• QuEra has increased its team to over 50 highly skilled scientists and engineers and added several experienced and accomplished executives to its management team, positioning itself for accelerated growth and innovation.

• In December 2023, QuEra announced that in research led by Harvard University, it performed complex, error-corrected quantum algorithms on 48 logical qubits, a major breakthrough for the quantum industry. This was followed by an ambitious but realistic roadmap to deliver a series of error-corrected quantum computers in 2024 through 2026.

The new headquarters represents a doubling of size relative to QuEra’s current location and will accommodate further growth and expansion over the next few years. The office is ideally located near MIT and Harvard University, two key partners of QuEra that have collaborated on important research and development since the company was founded by Harvard and MIT physicists who have conducted pioneering research in quantum computing.

“We are fortunate to call Boston our corporate home. The close proximity to the world-class labs of Harvard and MIT, and the outstanding local talent, are both recipes for success,” said Alex Keesling, CEO of QuEra. “With our rapid expansion, we are looking to add other outstanding team players to our team.”

QuEra’s neutral atom-based quantum computers feature a unique combination of system size, coherence, and processing modes. Neutral atom computers are a highly promising quantum modality, offering a clear path to large-scale, fault-tolerant computers. Since November 2022, QuEra’s first-generation, neutral-atom quantum computers have been available for public use on a large public cloud service and remain the only neutral-atom platform that is publicly accessible. QuEra leads the neutral atom market, offering dynamic qubit manipulation (qubit shuttling), enabling flexible and efficient quantum computations. QuEra’s computers operate at room temperature and can readily integrate with classical computing infrastructure.

QuEra is actively seeking outstanding candidates in all areas of its growing business: science, engineering, production, support, and business. Visit quera.com/careers to explore open opportunities.