Reference no: EM132877968

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 support for student efforts to unionize.

A majority of the undergraduate students at State University don't seem to know anything about the unionization efforts. A few politically active students have joined public rallies supporting the unionization efforts. Others seem to have used the unionization issue to complain about the quality of teaching provided by graduate students. These students recently met with administrators to complain about having too many graduate students as instructors. Just last week the local newspaper printed an article detailing some of the problems experienced when courses are taught by graduate students.

As a community, State University thus seems to be quite divided over the unionization issue. No matter who prevails in the election, it seems likely that a large number of people will be unhappy with the result.

Question:

1. Do you think a union would help resolve the complaints of the teaching assistants?
2. What makes the position of teaching assistant different from many jobs frequently represented by unions?
3. Do you think the administration's response is appropriate?
4. If you were a graduate student at State University, would you vote for the union? Why?