OPINION & EDITORIAL
Stop in the name of education
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by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, April 1, 2004
Tensions are at a breaking point. Both sides are frustrated. Emotions are running high. However, we urge the Teaching Assistants Association to stop and consider the possible ramifications of a work stoppage, strike or disruption in the grading process. They must avoid such measures at all costs.
These options may sound sexy, but in the end, they are simply idealistic and will bring no benefits to this university.
In discussions with this board, representatives from the TAA have argued that the proposals on the table will not ensure TA salaries and benefits at this university to remain competitive or to continue to draw top scholars from across the country. Without drawing the best talent to teach undergraduates, the TAA fears a Madison degree will be cheapened and that the university will suffer.
Representatives from the State Office of Employment Relations, who also met with this board, argue that because all state employees are now being asked to pay for a portion of their health insurance premiums, TAs must also pay a share and should not be allowed a free pass.
But by going on strike or disrupting the grading process, the TAs themselves are interfering with their goal of providing students with the best possible education available.
First, students will not benefit from missing discussions. Students will not benefit from being unable to attend office hours. Students will not benefit from not getting their grades turned in. Students will not benefit from getting C’s. Students will not benefit if the status of their graduation is left in doubt.
Secondly, a strike is illegal under state law as well as under their contract. Should the TAA go on strike or some form of one, they can and will suffer legal consequences. Neither undergraduates nor the graduate students represented by the TAA wish for this negotiation to take a turn for the worse. Even if the TAA somehow maneuvers the legal minefield, their counterparts at the State Office of Employment Relations will not likely feel more inclined to reach a middle ground.
Lastly, the Office of State Employment relations has threatened to look for other employees and possibly charge the Union for those additional labor costs should the TAA strike. If this does occur, the 1700 graduate students currently represented by the TAA may splinter — a situation union leaders certainly do not want. Even worse, the University would grind to a crashing halt. Who would grade the hundreds of papers in intro level courses? Who would conduct research on behalf of professors? What would happen to the status of this University if some of the finest TAs in the country could no longer work here? Temps can’t simply pick up that kind of work. Academic pursuits would be set back for months, possibly years.
The TAA must consider these implications before moving forward with what currently seems like an inevitable strike. In the end, the people in this process — undergraduates, graduates, faculty and the state — will not stand to benefit from a strike of any form. It will only make contract negotiations all the more difficult.
We urge the TAA to ensure that the high quality of a Madison education is left undisturbed. Do not leave the table in protest. Do not allow students to become a pawn in these trying negotiations. Do not strike.
