Ruling gives TAs due recognition

Last Wednesday, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate teaching assistants at private universities have the right to form unions, if necessary, to defend their interests. Since I hadn't been following the issue, the NLRB's decision caught me by surprise. But I had always believed that graduate TAs are employees and deserve the same rights guaranteed to others. Monday's DP staff editorial correctly noted that this ruling is unlikely to bring about the kind of militancy and confrontation at Penn that characterized the unionization campaign at Yale in the early 1990s. But I disagree that graduate TAs are "generally satisfied" with their treatment, or that the University should adopt a strategy of appeasement. Now more than ever, Penn must heed the example of its neighbor in North Philadelphia. For years, the Temple University Graduate Student Association has been locked in a struggle with that school's administration for union recognition. During that time, TUGSA has held rallies; staged a symbolic one-day strike to emphasize the vital role TAs play in university operations; and garnered much sympathy from local media. Last Thursday, one day after the NLRB ruling, City Council voted unanimously to support TUGSA and called upon Temple to negotiate in good faith with its most overlooked employees. Critics might note that Temple's TAs, on average, tend to be older than Penn's, are more likely to have families and come from less wealthy backgrounds. And in contrast to Penn, Princeton and many other elite private universities, where graduate students are restricted to grading papers and leading discussion sections, TAs at Temple are often responsible for whole courses, even introductory classes with enrollment in the hundreds. So is Temple's example relevant to Penn? I say yes, for two reasons. Recently, I was talking with another doctoral student about how to support ourselves while writing our dissertations. Like me, he had fulfilled his teaching duties and had no desire to teach again -- not at the University's salary. "You don't even want to think about dividing the money by how many hours you work, because you know it won't approach minimum wage," I joked. An exaggeration? Only slightly. In 1996, I received Penn's cushiest graduate fellowship, which entitled me to three years of funding with no obligations. For one year, I was required to teach two classes. And thanks to ex-President Ronald Reagan, my stipend for that year was taxed, so that I was actually making less than I did the other three years. Assuming I spend 35 hours a week attending lectures, reading for class, teaching sections, meeting with students, answering e-mail, grading papers and running errands for the professor, my total time commitment comes out to about 600 hours per semester, for approximately $6,000. Ten dollars per hour is well above minimum wage, but it doesn't include the benefits that most University employees receive. Remember also that TAs take courses and have their own reading and writing, plus various departmental obligations to fulfill. And rumor has it that some TAs actually have lives outside school. So there is at least some motivation for Penn's TAs to organize. But for me, the real significance of the NLRB's decision is not economic, and only indirectly stems from a romantic notion of TAs empowering themselves as a class of exploited workers. Since my first day at Penn, I've heard graduate students bemoan their chosen path -- wondering if they'll ever find positions in a diminishing academic job market, and comparing their meager salaries and high stress levels with friends in the "real" world. As I've said before, this lack of self-esteem derives from the general disrespect accorded academics in society. Last week's ruling acknowledges that graduate students are worthwhile members of society whose existence serves a real purpose. It sends a message to those who prefer to read and write, to teach and encourage the next generation that they, too, ought to be treated with respect -- and adequately compensated -- by their host institutions. Even for me, an unapologetic defender of the role of intellectuals in the U.S.'s indisputably anti-intellectual culture, last week's news was welcome vindication. Not that I expect Penn's less sensitive undergrads to stop taking their TAs for granted. For that matter, University employees may not recognize future archaeologists or literary critics -- most of them from privileged backgrounds -- as "fellow workers." But professors and administrators would do well to keep this in mind. See the folks in their 20s or 30s sitting in the corner, drinking coffee while reading, grading papers and preparing to teach? They work for you. And they'd like something in return.

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