Yale Teaching Assistants Debate Strike

Teaching assistants at Yale University will decide Monday whether to walk off the job if the university administration fails to grant them union recognition.

"For the past year, we've been trying to get the administration to deal with us. We've met with a brick wall," said Eve S. Weinbaum, a Yale graduate student and a leader of the union organization effort.

"Graduate students are quite frustrated and angry about not being listened to," she said.

Five years ago, humanities and social sciences teaching assistants at Yale organized the Graduate Employee and Student Organization (GESO) as a bargaining unit.

GESO's members include a majority of the roughly 1100 humanities and social science graduate students. GESO has formed an alliance with Yale's two official unions, Local 34--secretaries and other white collar workers--and Local 35--blue collar employees.

But Yale officials do not recognize GESO as a bargaining unit or as a member of the union federation.

"GESO is a student organization which thinks of itself as labor organization and would like to negotiate with the university," said Gary G. Fryer, Yale's director of public affairs. "But the university does not recognize it as a labor organization."

Representatives of the Yale federation of unions were unavailable for comment yesterday.

If approved, Monday's vote will issue an ultimatum to the university. If GESO is not granted a union election the week of March 31, members will not work the week of April 3, according to GESO members.

"For the week, teaching assistants will not teach their sections," said Theodore C. Liazos '89, a Yale graduate student in the history department. "Students are going to have to miss their classes."

Yale officials recognize the detrimental effect the April job action could have on undergraduate education.

"Obviously when people who have responsibility walk away from their responsibility, there's always some disruption associated with it," Fryer said. "We'll take whatever steps are necessary to resolve the matter."

But Fryer said there is no chance GESO's action could result in union status.

"[The vote] is entirely internal to GESO. My hope would be that they wouldn't [walk out] because it's not going to have the outcome they expect," Fryer said.

"The [question] is whether they have status as a bargaining entity. The university position is that they don't," he said.

GESO Complaints

GESO organizers have a litany of complaints about treatment, training, salary and benefits. They say they've compared their status with that of Harvard teaching fellows and found that in all areas, Yale graduate students make out worse.

"We make less than Yale estimates to be the cost of living in New Haven," Weinbaum says. "Yale is the only school where teaching assistants are paidless than the cost of living."

In addition, GESO organizers say theirteaching assistants don't do any less work thatHarvard's TFs.

The conventional wisdom is "at Yale you'retaught by faculty, at Harvard you're taught bygrad students. That's [not true]," Liazos said.

"We do the majority of the teaching here,"Weinbaum said.

Yale TAs make just over $9,300 a year forteaching two discussion sections per semester,whereas Harvard TFs make close to $12,000,Weinbaum and Liazos said.

According to a source at the Graduate School ofArts and Sciences (GSAS), teaching fellows arepaid $3,250 per term for teaching a fifth,basically one discussion section.

Thus, Harvard graduate students could make$13,000 per year for teaching two discussionsections each term.

"[The salary difference] is on the order of$2,000. When you're talking about a salary around$10,000, it makes a big difference," Liazos said.

"Graduate students are forced to take jobs,waiting tables and doing other things," Weinbaumsaid. "It's quite hypocritical to say we have tobe finished in five years."

Yale graduate students pay between $7,000 and$14,000 in tuition, Liazos said.

"All they're getting is a gym membership and alibrary card," he said. "They're paying theirsalary back to the university. It doesn't happenalmost anywhere else."

But a source at Harvard's GSAS said thatteaching fellows don't get a break on the $18,000full tuition.

Yale's residential colleges do not provide roomand board for residential tutors.

"By and large Yale does not have teachingassistants in their [residential] colleges," saidAssociate Dean of Harvard College Thomas A.Dingman.

"Those [Harvard teaching fellows who live inthe houses] feel it's a significant part of theirexperience, both educationally and financially,"Dingman said. "They receive free housing and mealsin exchange for their services."

Dingman said the College provides the roomspace and a meal pool for each house, which isused to finance the expenses of its non-studentresidents.

Liazos said he tried to live in one of Yale'sresidential colleges this year: "But it would havecost me money to do it."

Most teaching fellows, Dingman said, don't livein the houses and are fully responsible for theirroom and board costs.

Yale's teaching assistants are also required topay for their own health care expenses, Weinbaumsaid.

"A friend of mine is a single mother. She hasone five-year-old," Weinbaum said. "She has to pay$4,000 in health care. That's about as much as shemakes in one semester."

Harvard teaching fellows receive healthinsurance in the same way undergraduates do; butlike undergraduates, they still have to pay.

"Benefit policy is set University-wide," saidAssistant Dean for Undergraduate Education JeffreyWolcowitz. "Teaching fellows are graduate studentsand have health benefits in their role asstudents."

GESO organizers also claim that the budget of asuccessful three-year-old teacher training programhas been cut by a third.

"It's been gutted," Weinbaum said.

In addition, they say the grievance procedurethey were granted after a one day strike in thewinter of 1992 was rescinded.

"We don't have a grievance procedure that'sbinding. The dean's office gets to decide if acomplaint has merit," Liazos said. "That doesn'tseem impartial."

Several Yale administrators did not respond toinquiries this week about the GESO's claims. Allquestions were referred to Fryer.

GESO History

All humanities and social science graduatestudents are eligible for GESO membership.

"Over a year ago, we started the immediatecampaign," Weinbaum said. "We started havingteaching assistants and potential teachingassistants signing up, demanding an election. Wegot a majority pretty quickly."

GESO leaders have spent the last year trying tonegotiate with Yale University administrators.

"There have been an endless round of meetingswith administrators. The upshot is that there hasbeen almost no movement," Liazos said.

"They've expressed a lot of sympathy, but saidthey're not the ones to help us," Weinbaum said.

GESO has also tried using rallies, marches andpetitions to sway the administration. Leaders saythey're using the successful 1984 election driveof Local 34 as a model.

"The university underestimated them becausethey were women, they were white collar," Weinbaumsaid. "[The university] forced them out on strike,and they lasted 10 weeks."

But Weinbaum said GESO members hope to avoid astrike longer than the April job action.

"It's something we have to consider. But it'ssomething we really want to avoid, more thananything," she said. "There's no reason it has tocome to that. All we want is an election."

Weinbaum said GESO is already recognized by thefederal Department of Labor and the ConnecticutDepartment of Labor as a union.

GESO does not include science graduate studentsbecause conditions are different in the sciences,organizers say.

"They're treated very differently, basicallybecause of the way their research is funded. Theyenjoy stipends, guaranteed research and jobs,"Liazos said.

"They scientists have what they call adifferent community of interests," Weinbaum said."They have a fellowship whether they teach or not.They almost all have free health care."

Teaching assistants are organized at theUniversity of California at Berkeley and theUniversity of Michigan. But general consensusamong Harvard officials is that nothing on thescale of GESO has been widely considered here.

"In passing I've heard students say, 'Yeah, weneed that sort of thing here,' but nothingofficial, not here or at MIT," said Donene M.Williams, president of the Harvard Union ofClerical and Technical Workers, the largest andyoungest of the University's seven unions

In addition, GESO organizers say theirteaching assistants don't do any less work thatHarvard's TFs.

The conventional wisdom is "at Yale you'retaught by faculty, at Harvard you're taught bygrad students. That's [not true]," Liazos said.

"We do the majority of the teaching here,"Weinbaum said.

Yale TAs make just over $9,300 a year forteaching two discussion sections per semester,whereas Harvard TFs make close to $12,000,Weinbaum and Liazos said.

According to a source at the Graduate School ofArts and Sciences (GSAS), teaching fellows arepaid $3,250 per term for teaching a fifth,basically one discussion section.

Thus, Harvard graduate students could make$13,000 per year for teaching two discussionsections each term.

"[The salary difference] is on the order of$2,000. When you're talking about a salary around$10,000, it makes a big difference," Liazos said.

"Graduate students are forced to take jobs,waiting tables and doing other things," Weinbaumsaid. "It's quite hypocritical to say we have tobe finished in five years."

Yale graduate students pay between $7,000 and$14,000 in tuition, Liazos said.

"All they're getting is a gym membership and alibrary card," he said. "They're paying theirsalary back to the university. It doesn't happenalmost anywhere else."

But a source at Harvard's GSAS said thatteaching fellows don't get a break on the $18,000full tuition.

Yale's residential colleges do not provide roomand board for residential tutors.

"By and large Yale does not have teachingassistants in their [residential] colleges," saidAssociate Dean of Harvard College Thomas A.Dingman.

"Those [Harvard teaching fellows who live inthe houses] feel it's a significant part of theirexperience, both educationally and financially,"Dingman said. "They receive free housing and mealsin exchange for their services."

Dingman said the College provides the roomspace and a meal pool for each house, which isused to finance the expenses of its non-studentresidents.

Liazos said he tried to live in one of Yale'sresidential colleges this year: "But it would havecost me money to do it."

Most teaching fellows, Dingman said, don't livein the houses and are fully responsible for theirroom and board costs.

Yale's teaching assistants are also required topay for their own health care expenses, Weinbaumsaid.

"A friend of mine is a single mother. She hasone five-year-old," Weinbaum said. "She has to pay$4,000 in health care. That's about as much as shemakes in one semester."

Harvard teaching fellows receive healthinsurance in the same way undergraduates do; butlike undergraduates, they still have to pay.

"Benefit policy is set University-wide," saidAssistant Dean for Undergraduate Education JeffreyWolcowitz. "Teaching fellows are graduate studentsand have health benefits in their role asstudents."

GESO organizers also claim that the budget of asuccessful three-year-old teacher training programhas been cut by a third.

"It's been gutted," Weinbaum said.

In addition, they say the grievance procedurethey were granted after a one day strike in thewinter of 1992 was rescinded.

"We don't have a grievance procedure that'sbinding. The dean's office gets to decide if acomplaint has merit," Liazos said. "That doesn'tseem impartial."

Several Yale administrators did not respond toinquiries this week about the GESO's claims. Allquestions were referred to Fryer.

GESO History

All humanities and social science graduatestudents are eligible for GESO membership.

"Over a year ago, we started the immediatecampaign," Weinbaum said. "We started havingteaching assistants and potential teachingassistants signing up, demanding an election. Wegot a majority pretty quickly."

GESO leaders have spent the last year trying tonegotiate with Yale University administrators.

"There have been an endless round of meetingswith administrators. The upshot is that there hasbeen almost no movement," Liazos said.

"They've expressed a lot of sympathy, but saidthey're not the ones to help us," Weinbaum said.

GESO has also tried using rallies, marches andpetitions to sway the administration. Leaders saythey're using the successful 1984 election driveof Local 34 as a model.

"The university underestimated them becausethey were women, they were white collar," Weinbaumsaid. "[The university] forced them out on strike,and they lasted 10 weeks."

But Weinbaum said GESO members hope to avoid astrike longer than the April job action.

"It's something we have to consider. But it'ssomething we really want to avoid, more thananything," she said. "There's no reason it has tocome to that. All we want is an election."

Weinbaum said GESO is already recognized by thefederal Department of Labor and the ConnecticutDepartment of Labor as a union.

GESO does not include science graduate studentsbecause conditions are different in the sciences,organizers say.

"They're treated very differently, basicallybecause of the way their research is funded. Theyenjoy stipends, guaranteed research and jobs,"Liazos said.

"They scientists have what they call adifferent community of interests," Weinbaum said."They have a fellowship whether they teach or not.They almost all have free health care."

Teaching assistants are organized at theUniversity of California at Berkeley and theUniversity of Michigan. But general consensusamong Harvard officials is that nothing on thescale of GESO has been widely considered here.

"In passing I've heard students say, 'Yeah, weneed that sort of thing here,' but nothingofficial, not here or at MIT," said Donene M.Williams, president of the Harvard Union ofClerical and Technical Workers, the largest andyoungest of the University's seven unions