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In less than a week, graduate teaching and research assistants at the University of Illinois may go on strike for the first time ever. According to The News-Gazette, on Monday, the Graduate Employees' Organization voted overwhelmingly in favor to authorize a strike against the UI Board of Trustees if an agreement can't be met. The GEO has been negotiating with UI administrators for over six months, seeking a contract "that would set the minimum salary for a 50 percent nine-month appointment at the UI's estimate of a living wage for a graduate student, as well as protect tuition waivers for TAs and GAs."
The next round of negotiations are slated for November 17th between the GEO and UI administration. GEO spokesman Peter Campbell said that the group is "interested in solving this through negotiation," but there is still a strike plan in place expected to commence as early as November 16th.
Urbana campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler was disappointed with the vote and said it wasn't in the best interest of the GEO to hold a strike, but is "planning for that eventuality." The GEO reported its members teach more than 23% of course hours at the undergraduate level on the Urbana campus.
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Will this affect UIC? This is something I don't know ... how connected to the University of Illinois is UIC?
graduate research assistants are typically paid out of research funds from grants obtained by their group. they're not normal university payroll, so it's going to be tough to iron out any sort of agreement that can accommodate the tight budgets most professors are already running.
UIUC actually has three categories of graduate students: T.A.s, G.A.s, and R.A.s. Only R.A.'s are paid out of research budgets, and there work usually counts toward their degree, so they are not included in the bargaining unit. The strike involves T.A.s who teach courses or work in an instructional capacity and G.A.s (like those at the library).
This would never happen at the University of New Mexico. Everyone's a Lobo, Woof Woof Woof!
You know what would have happened at the University of New Mexico, Longley? The women's soccer team would have gone to town all over the administration's collective ass!