Doug in two stages:
>Here's how my dear alma mater replied to my complaint about how Yale is
>busting its grad student union. "Developing scholars, not employees"
>indeed.
>
>>I'm an alum of Yale College, class of 1975, and I'm shocked to see my alma
>>mater busting unions. I'm also a journalist, and you can be sure that I
>>will use my writing and my radio show here in NYC to spread the news about
>>one of the richest universities in the world acting like the most primitive
>>mill owner from another era. Shame on Yale!
>>
one experience from my days as a tutor (full-time jobs given to grad students
in OZ) has never left me. the dept of economics (leading OZ uni) decided to be
rationalist in its approach. it called us in (about 15 of us) at the end of the
semester and told us that they were laying us off for the summer (casuals
immediately, full-timers dec 31 as the latter were on one year contracts) and
would reemploy all of us on march 1 (when Semester 1 for the next year begins).
in other words save 2 months pay. the rule up to then had been that while you
were still progressing in your studies you were rolled over for the next year
and paid in jan and feb.
i was elected leader (for a number of reasons) and i approached the Staff Union
(part of a federal academic union) for help. many of us were fully paid up
members on the SAME rate per year as professors (remember professor is a
different thing in the OZ system). the union refused to help. they said that it
was not worth their trouble assisting non-tenured secondary labour market
staff. i approached the national body - likewise. they said the uni. had
contractual right on their side and they didn't think it was worthwhile
intervening b//c it was in a period when they were trying to negotiate an award
wage increase. one prick actually had the audacity to say that if they got the
award rise it would help offset our losses anyway. better concentrate on the
big picture was the advice. big for the top dogs!
anyway, fuck the union. i organised a solid strategy. we quietly worked over
summer on our post grad stuff. come march 1 when a thousand students have to
processes into tutorials and the whole teaching program organised (heavily
dependent on the tutors) - we waited two days into the first week, and i knew
that they could not do without us. i then called the Head of Dept down to our
meeting and told him that we were out on strike. there was mayhem for the next
day. one prick broke ranks and begged to be considered separate from the
troublemakers. later next day the HOD capitulated to our demands. backpay,
contracting begin in oct of each year and finalised by the end of october. one
year contracts at least.
lessons learned:
don't join the academic union - it is traitorous, discriminatory, self-serving
and distinctly non-radical.
when you get to be HOD don't mistreat the junior staff b/c they are important
to the senior staff's comfort!
both lessons are being practised as bill gets older.
just a reflection
kind regards
bill
--
#### ## William F. Mitchell
####### #### Head of Economics Department
################# University of Newcastle
#################### New South Wales, Australia
###################* E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
################### Phone: +61 49 215065
##### ## ### +61 49 215027
Fax: +61 49 216919
##
WWW Home Page: http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/billyhp.html
