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.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have a sleeper pick to win 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the year on their roster in third-round pick Roman Wilson.

FanDuel Sportsbook is the most optimistic about Wilson’s odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but even they have the Steelers rookie at just +7,500 odds to take home the award (DraftKings, BetMGM, and BetRivers have his odds at +8,000).

Leading the pack are some obvious names – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Marvin Harrison, JJ McCarthy and Malik Nabers, among others. They’re all virtual locks to start right away after being taken in the top 10 by their respective teams. Wilson also figures to be a Week 1 starter for the Steelers, but his college pedigree lags behind some of the biggest names from the 2024 draft.

Wilson caught just 48 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns for Michigan in 2023 but unlike some of the other players with identical odds (Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix, Cincinnati wide receiver Jermaine Burton, Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum and Jets wide receiver Malachi Corley), Wilson will play a major role in the Steelers, barring a surprising, massive addition at wideout during the remainder of the offseason. And he’ll get to play with an experienced NFL quarterback in Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, unlike many of the other rookie receivers entering the league right now.

Wilson has long odds but a path to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year is still clear for one member of the Steelers’ 2024 draft class.

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In 2021, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced plans for a 2.7-mile bike lane that would run from Calvert Street NW in Woodley Park to Legation Street NW in Chevy Chase. The plan — supported by bicycling advocates and intended to boost bike safety — was estimated to cost $7.7 million, and would have eliminated more than 300 parking spaces and cut lane capacity for vehicles in half. It was opposed by business owners, who claimed the lane would affect their customers. A D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) official told legislators last month that the plan had been scuttled.