by El Zorro Viejo (aka; Jim)

Once upon a time, a long, long, long time ago, I was, for a year, a graduate research assistant. As such, I had my tuition paid and was given a small stipend besides. It was enough to pay the rent and buy some groceries. As a student, I had access to the student health system which, even then, was a pretty comprehensive health insurance package for both me and my immediate family. Now, as a grad research assistant, I was expected to show up in the attic office area set aside for us at about 8:00am. My day consisted of classes, study and some work. I was definitely not a profit center for the University. In fact, as a research assistant, my proposed thesis (which never got written because a divorce--which was emotionally devastating at that time--interrupted my life at that point) was actually based upon the research I was being paid to perform.

Anyhow, this ruling, (New York Times site requires registration)Labor Board Says Graduate Students at Private Universities Have No Right to Unionize, by the NLRB seems, to me, to be a step towards sanity. Graduate assistants should fall into the same category as work/study students. It is a way for the student to have his education, which is of primary benefit to said student, subsidized while the University gets some inexpensive, part-time help. It is good for the student, it is good for the university, it is good for the professors and it is good for the general student body. Nah, keep the unions outta this particular area.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ©El Zorro Viejo 2002-2005