(Republican) Labor Board denies grad student workers right to unionize

[UpInArms]

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=703

Jul 17 - In a crushing blow to the growing movement to unionize graduate students at private universities, the Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board reversed its opinion and ruled on Thursday that students who work as research and teaching assistants are students, not workers, and do not have the right to unionize.

Four years ago, the then Democrat-controlled Board ruled that graduate students could unionize. As a result a successful movement at New York University became the first in the country to form a graduate employees’ union at a private university. Unionization drives followed at Brown, Columbia, Tufts and the University of Pennsylvania, but were stalled when those universities appealed to the Labor Relations Board, leading to Thursday’s decision.

...more...

(orig article at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/education/16union.html)

[daveskilt]

1. yeah why would they need union protections?

My wife, for instance, has taught at both a state and a private university while a masters, and then PhD student. She taught more classes than a full tenure professor would. She was teaching both upper division classes, (usually for tenured track professors) and freshman classes (far more work with all the grading of badly writen papers). More work than any tenure track professor making $60,000+ per year all while taking a full course load of classes, and publishing papers, and presenting at conferences like any professor would.

For this she earned less than $12,000 per year with a tuition waiver worth an additional $18,000. Now this part is fair since she did not have the degree yet and was paying her dues to get there. Fair enough.

BUT while working she could not get health insurance. Also when she became unexpectedly pregnant, not only was there no maternity leave, but she lost pay for the rest of the semester because of the 2 weeks she did not teach and had a sub (she worked up until the friday before our daughter was born 3 days later.)

grad students aren't looking for anything extreme, just basic stuff that they could have had if they had dropped out of high school and got a job. Basic benefits so that they can work and graduate.

[aquart]

3. If we had national health, that problem would not be an issue.

I just mention it.

[daveskilt]

6. preaching to the choir - grew up on the British NHS nt

[LittleApple81]

2. Graduate students at some Universities do a lot of the work

for professors and professors take advantage of very cheap labor. Not having right to medical insurance adds insult to injury.

[markses]

7. It's not the professors

It is the universities themselves. When I was a graduate student I taught writing courses capped at 25 students, all of whom seemed to be paying full tuition: one - that's right, ONE - student's tuition easily paid my stipend. This is not a question of relieving the workload on tenured and tenure-line faculty; it is a question of economics for the university (and, of course, exploitation of a class of workers). The NLRB is operating like a Republican shill organization. I'd like to see these fuckers teach two undergraduate courses, take three graduate courses, do their research, publish, and spend some time with the kids in the meanwhile, all without health, dental, or vision and - oh, yeah - on <$15,000 a year. What a pack of fucking criminals they are.

[LittleApple81]

8. Oh, I know. I am not blaming the professors. What I meant, you need

FEWER (a lot fewer) professors if you use "graduate students with lower salary and not benefits". So it is the institutions that are doing this.

[BiggJawn]

4. Our grad students get SOME benefits.

But they're pretty much indentured servants, doing all the work while the 6-figure professors do "Research" or write their books (the U has this "thing" about being published)

FWIW, the Service Staff isn't Unionized, either.

[daveskilt]

5. some grad students also do the research and write the books

not that they get the credit though...one friend I know wrote 15 of 19 chapters for a book for his professor - not even a mention in the thank yous let alone credit for what he did (the book was on religion and ethics by an extremely RW professor at BYU)