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Graduate students push for collective bargaining

By Associated Press

POSTED:
LAST UPDATED: 08:07 a.m. HST, Feb 16, 2012



Graduate students at the University of Hawaii want the right to bargain as a state employee unit.

The Graduate Student Organization says it's closer to being able to negotiate working conditions and salary increases because of a bill before the state Legislature.

The bill would remove a restriction that currently prohibits graduate students from negotiating their contracts. The Hawaii Government Employees Association and other unions have joined with the graduate students in supporting the bill.

GSO President Anjali Nath issued a press release urging lawmakers to support House Bill 2859. She says without a proper channel for grievance, graduate assistants can do little to express their opinions or protect themselves from employer abuse.

Nath says graduate assistant pay scales haven't increased in eight years, despite increased teaching loads.






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Ronin006 wrote:
Graduate assistant pay scales may not have increased in eight years, but tuition, which they get free, has skyrocketed. They should be thankful for the free ride they are being given while getting their advanced degrees and quit compalining.
on February 16,2012 | 07:28AM
cojef wrote:
Yep, you can say that again. They want their cake and eat too. One more step in total unionization of everything in Hawaii.
on February 16,2012 | 07:41AM
4watitsworth wrote:
Good points Ronin006. It seems to be me some GAs are overpaid for the amount of work they do. They are supposed to work no more than 20 hours per week so if they are grumbling about an increase in workload perhaps they weren't putting in the full of amount of hours they were supposed to. If they are working more than 20 hours per week then they should talk to their Department Chair. I think receiving a salary, a tuition waiver, an office and teaching experience while getting their degree is a darn good deal!
on February 16,2012 | 01:27PM
frontman wrote:
Cut all the Graduate students that do most of the work for the professors. Make the tenured slackers earn their income.
on February 16,2012 | 03:10PM
false wrote:
Let them bargain, they got more to lose than gain. The whole grad system may dissolve because of their greed!
on February 16,2012 | 08:25AM
Anonymous wrote:
Wait, these are graduate STUDENTS? Aren't they getting something out of the work they are doing already -- a degree that will earn them higher wages in the future?
on February 16,2012 | 10:06AM
Hilofrank wrote:
Undergraduates should also be able to unionize to protect them from abuses from: (1) faculty and grad students who prey on them for dates and sexual favors; (2) sub-standard instruction (grad students who don't marginally speak english or faculty who are just going through the motions of teaching); and (3) abusive tactics from the administration.
on February 16,2012 | 10:09AM
bubbaButt wrote:
Thank god I got my MBA from a well respected Mainland University. I would never go to this POS UH. Oh, what am I talking about? I got my bachelors there.... what a huge mistake!!!
on February 16,2012 | 10:52AM
SomebodyElse wrote:
graduate assistant pay scales haven't increased in eight years, despite increased teaching loads...Sheesh, mine have gone down and medical up! However, I'm sure their work load has increased due the the ineffective public school feeder system to UH. Take money from the teachers, they don't do anything anyway as the Gov. would tell it.
on February 16,2012 | 02:51PM
fairgame947 wrote:
STUDENTS. (PERIOD) Nuf said.
on February 16,2012 | 02:51PM
frontman wrote:
Cut all the Graduate students that do most of the work for the professors. Make the tenured slackers earn their income.
on February 16,2012 | 03:10PM
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