Teaching Assistants at State University Discussion
Please read the case and answer the questions at the end. Please respond to
two of your peers. Do you agree or disagree?
State University employs a large number of graduate students to work as
teaching assistants. The teaching assistants often complain about their work.
They feel that faculty and administrators demand too much. A common
complaint is their low wages. The graduate students frequently point out that
they do much the same work as faculty members, yet they receive only a
very small percentage of the pay that faculty members receive. They also
claim that faculty members frequently treat them unfairly. Teaching
assistants are often asked to do large amounts of grading in very short time
periods. Many also feel that faculty members are not very good at
communicating expectations.
In response to the dissatisfaction of the teaching assistants, a local union
representing public workers has begun efforts to organize a labor union.
Union representatives have obtained campaign card signatures from 40
percent of the teaching assistants. An election is scheduled for next month.
Union representatives have been busy making a case that the union can help
ensure that teaching assistants are treated more fairly. They have publicized
statistics showing that unionized workers make significantly more than
nonunionized workers. University administrators have decided not to actively
oppose union organization. They have simply stated that it is important for
teaching assistants to have the opportunity to decide whether they should
be represented by a labor union.
Some faculty members are sympathetic to the concerns voiced by graduate
students. They publicly state their concern that wages are too low. They also
express frustration when they see some of their colleagues take advantage
of students by assigning them large amounts of work to complete in short
time periods. Other faculty members are less sympathetic. These professors
talk about how they were treated even worse when they were graduate
assistants. They seem to find joy in looking back and telling war stories
about “the old days.” They seem to think that working hard for little pay is a
right of passage that helps prepare students for future careers. Overall, the
faculty at State University thus seems to be about evenly split in their
This study source was downloaded by 100000812546443 from CourseHero.com on 11-22-2023 07:13:14 GMT -06:00
support for student efforts to unionize.
https://www.coursehero.com/file/82710346/CH13-Teaching-Assistants-at-State-University-Discussiondocx/
Please read the case and answer the questions at the end. Please respond to
two of your peers. Do you agree or disagree?
State University employs a large number of graduate students to work as
teaching assistants. The teaching assistants often complain about their work.
They feel that faculty and administrators demand too much. A common
complaint is their low wages. The graduate students frequently point out that
they do much the same work as faculty members, yet they receive only a
very small percentage of the pay that faculty members receive. They also
claim that faculty members frequently treat them unfairly. Teaching
assistants are often asked to do large amounts of grading in very short time
periods. Many also feel that faculty members are not very good at
communicating expectations.
In response to the dissatisfaction of the teaching assistants, a local union
representing public workers has begun efforts to organize a labor union.
Union representatives have obtained campaign card signatures from 40
percent of the teaching assistants. An election is scheduled for next month.
Union representatives have been busy making a case that the union can help
ensure that teaching assistants are treated more fairly. They have publicized
statistics showing that unionized workers make significantly more than
nonunionized workers. University administrators have decided not to actively
oppose union organization. They have simply stated that it is important for
teaching assistants to have the opportunity to decide whether they should
be represented by a labor union.
Some faculty members are sympathetic to the concerns voiced by graduate
students. They publicly state their concern that wages are too low. They also
express frustration when they see some of their colleagues take advantage
of students by assigning them large amounts of work to complete in short
time periods. Other faculty members are less sympathetic. These professors
talk about how they were treated even worse when they were graduate
assistants. They seem to find joy in looking back and telling war stories
about “the old days.” They seem to think that working hard for little pay is a
right of passage that helps prepare students for future careers. Overall, the
faculty at State University thus seems to be about evenly split in their
This study source was downloaded by 100000812546443 from CourseHero.com on 11-22-2023 07:13:14 GMT -06:00
support for student efforts to unionize.
https://www.coursehero.com/file/82710346/CH13-Teaching-Assistants-at-State-University-Discussiondocx/
