UM's union efforts falter
TAs had sought bargaining rights
By: Jacki Huntington, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: State & National
The recent defeat of unionization efforts by graduate students at the University of Maryland at College Park demonstrates the difficulties faced by graduate students seeking collective bargaining rights.
Though union rights have been granted at some universities across the country, many graduate students are still denied those rights on the basis of state law and their university designation as students rather than employees.
That distinction spurred graduate students at Maryland to protest heavily throughout the past year. They advocated for a voice in decision-making, a right already granted to faculty, as a means of raising stipends, lightening excessive work loads and addressing grievances.
"We aren't employees, and they think we don't need this," said Laura Moore, president of the university's graduate student government.
"But they make it clear that the stipend is dependent on the work we do."
Moore declared the range of graduate student labor comparable to that of faculty work and integral to the success of large universities.
UNC, the only peer institution of Maryland that does not grant collective bargaining rights to graduate students, currently employs such students as teaching assistants and researchers.
"Can you imagine if there was a grad student strike?" Chapel Hill Town Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said. "The university would shut down."
Though Maryland's graduate students work an average of 29 hours each week, they get paid for 20 hours. The minimum stipend paid for a two-semester teaching assistant position is $13,826. Its yearly increase has not kept up with the area's rising rent costs.
"These students are at the point where they're going to give up their dream of getting a graduate degree so they can find higher-paying work," said Janet Bass, spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, an organization that has supported Moore's efforts.
UNC's minimum teaching assistant stipend is $7,200 per semester, but salaries are highly variable throughout different graduate programs.
Though union rights have been granted at some universities across the country, many graduate students are still denied those rights on the basis of state law and their university designation as students rather than employees.
That distinction spurred graduate students at Maryland to protest heavily throughout the past year. They advocated for a voice in decision-making, a right already granted to faculty, as a means of raising stipends, lightening excessive work loads and addressing grievances.
"We aren't employees, and they think we don't need this," said Laura Moore, president of the university's graduate student government.
"But they make it clear that the stipend is dependent on the work we do."
Moore declared the range of graduate student labor comparable to that of faculty work and integral to the success of large universities.
UNC, the only peer institution of Maryland that does not grant collective bargaining rights to graduate students, currently employs such students as teaching assistants and researchers.
"Can you imagine if there was a grad student strike?" Chapel Hill Town Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said. "The university would shut down."
Though Maryland's graduate students work an average of 29 hours each week, they get paid for 20 hours. The minimum stipend paid for a two-semester teaching assistant position is $13,826. Its yearly increase has not kept up with the area's rising rent costs.
"These students are at the point where they're going to give up their dream of getting a graduate degree so they can find higher-paying work," said Janet Bass, spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, an organization that has supported Moore's efforts.
UNC's minimum teaching assistant stipend is $7,200 per semester, but salaries are highly variable throughout different graduate programs.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mario Delgado
posted 3/17/08 @ 8:43 PM EST
Lauren Anderson's comments offensive and ahistorical.
Contrary to Anderson's assertion that graduate students haven't found the need for a union at Carolina, the last major raise for graduate students in the spring of 2001 came about due to a campaign of pressure from students affiliated with Public Service Workers UE Local 150A. (Continued…)
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