Advanced GESO FAQ
(response to administration)
CGEU FAQ:
Basic, Organizing, Legal
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
for undergraduates
Why should undergraduates care about TA working conditions?
Because TA working conditions are undergraduate learning conditions.
The quality of Yale education is the prime motivator for GESO's struggle for union recognition: Only by having a voice in our working conditions can teachers ensure that decisions affecting the classroom are motivated by good pedagogy rather than the bottom-line.
Which GESO issues particularly affect undergraduates?
A lot of what GESO works on affects undergraduates. For example:
- Section Sizes
- TA teacher training
- TA English-language training
- Casualization of Yale teaching
What's the story about section sizes?
GESO is working for reduced class and sections sizes. It is in our mutual best interests to limit class size. The fewer students we have, the fewer assignments we have to grade, and the more time and effort we can provide to each student.
GESO has surveyed Yale undergraduates and found that their preferred section size is 13-15. Faculty and graduate teachers have agreed. So in a class of 60, the teachers and the students would prefer 4 sections of 15. But the administration saves money with 3 sections of 20. In this situation, the administration always has the final word. The bottom-line trumps good pedagogy.
My TAs don't know how to teach. So why should I support a TA union?
Because we're constantly striving to get better training from Yale, so that we can become better teachers. We hate having a bad classroom experience too. There are three structural things Yale could do to improve things:
- Teacher Training
- English Language Training
- No Unpaid Teaching Requirements
In 1996, the administration promised to build a state-of-the-art "Center for Teaching and Learning" (CTL) to train its graduate teachers (the CTL would be modelled on Harvard's "Bok Center"). The plans never materialized and have now been abandoned.
English-language training is woefully inadequate. During the summer, classes are very expensive and so hardly utilized. During the school year, only 1 free year is provided (contrast this with the availability of training in any other language!) and the classes are crowded and ineffective.
Putting resources into a "Center for Teaching and Learning" and into high-quality, free English-language training would dramatically improve the quality of graduate teaching, and this would improve the quality of undergraduate learning.
There is one more structural problem that can lead to poor TA performance: the unpaid teaching requirement. In some departments (mostly in the sciences) TAs are forced to teach and are not paid extra for it. For example, a graduate student in the Med School planning a career in the pharmaceutical industry will be forced to teach even though she has no intention and no desire ever to teach again. Add to this the fact that she's not being paid for the teaching, which is just another degree-hurdle to clear, and one might understand why powerful pedagogical motivation can be hard to muster.
If, instead, teaching were voluntary and adequately paid, serving as a TA would be seen more as a good opportunity for those who want to teach.
What does "casualization" mean, and why does it matter?
"Casualization" refers to the gradual replacement of full-time faculty with part-time adjuncts and graduate TAs. For example, where before there were 5 faculty-led courses with 20 students, now there is 1 faculty-led lecture with 5 TAs and 100 students. So 4 of those faculty are "replaced" by graduate TAs. This trend harms the quality of a Yale education, harms the quality of higher education across the country, and destroys the job market for PhDs.
Casualization happens because adjuncts and graduate teachers are cheap and are unrepresented in university governance. Unionization fixes both, and so it is the best way to curtail casualization.
GESO is leading a national campaign against the casualization of university teaching. The "Casual in Blue" Report, released in April, 1999, outlines the extent of casualization here at Yale, where only 30 percent of classroom hours are led by ladder faculty. This report sparked press nationwide, including a strong editorial in the Yale Daily News.
What about a strike? Won't undergraduates get hurt if Yale recognizes the union?
A strike is the last resort, and Yale will only incite a strike if it feels that support for GESO is limited. So if you support GESO's issues, the best way to prevent a strike is to make sure the Yale administration knows of your support, and to build more support amongst your friends. The stronger the support for GESO, the more likely the administration will begin negotiations rather than initiate a confrontation.
It should also be clear that union recognition would decrease, not increase, the likelihood of a strike. Without recognition, Yale TAs walked out 3 times between 1992-1995. Union recognition would not increase the likelihood of this happening again. Union recognition would initiate a negotiated agreement that would stabilize the entire situation.
There have been more strikes, and more general unrest, at universities withoutrecognized unions than at universities withrecognized unions. Usually, this is in response to administrations who ignore the will of the democratic majority and who refuse to recognize the organizations with which graduate students have chosen to represent themselves. The best way to stabilize everything is for Yale to recognize GESO and begin working together with graduate students towards a contract.
Go to GESO Basic FAQ
Go to GESO Advanced FAQ (response to administration)
Go to GESO FAQ for International Students
Also, consider the following general FAQ's out there:
- General FAQ on collective bargaining and labor law
- CGEU FAQ Collection: Basic, Organizing, Legal
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This page was last updated on: January 20, 2000 |
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Graduate Employees and Students Organization |
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