as a PhD student who teaches from time to time, as well as having 
somewhat radical unionist views, i've struggled with this a lot recently.

i saw very little student activity in support of the strike and ASOS 
earlier last year, and despite a lot of effort including leafletting, 
networking with other student groups and - if anyone read my 
not-very-well-articulated intervention in antipode - baking cakes, and 
the result was expectedly minimal. indeed, i was disgusted that 
Liverpool Guild of Students, whose president at the time was a good 
friend of mine, organised a demonstration against their own lecturers. 
needless to say he and i are no longer such good friends!

as far as i can tell, a fair few students did not cross picket lines 
that day, but on a pessimistic note, there were most likely two reasons 
for this: the fact that many students live within a few yards of their 
lecture theatres, thus living on the wrong side of the pickets anyway, 
and the fact that those who lived outside did not turn up because most 
of their lectures had been cancelled. a fair few people i spoke to 
didn't even know that you're not supposed to cross picket lines (and 
even fewer knew it was called 'scabbing').

anyway, i'm rambling...

from my own experience of being and being around grad students, i get 
the impression that many of us are highly politicised, articulate, and 
keen to see equality and justice. however, part of the problem as i see 
it is a disparity between distant others' and one's own position in 'the 
machine'. it is easy to say 'poor little african kid with a swollen 
belly - what awful global trade rules!'. there's a harrowing, visual 
anchor around which one can sympathise. it's extreme, and no-one could 
disagree that that kid is being killed unnecessarily. however it is hard 
to explain the link between that little african kid and the fact that 
TAs don't get formal contracts or guaranteed hours. even harder to 
explain the reason why both the little african kid and your TA work are 
reasons why you should never cross a picket line.

in a way it can sometimes stem from a bit of a privileged standpoint - 
"i'm english and well-educated so my boss would never dare to screw me 
over." but in another way there are so many pressures to perform, so 
many hoops to jump through, so much to cram into three years, that we 
tend not to think about our own situation. in this second respect, with 
high pressure to perform, and little time or money to spare, our 
situation is very similar to many of the 'proper' teaching and support 
staff.

damn i'm still rambling, and even less coherently than before. okay. 
i'll stop. a few bullet points (lecturers LOVE bullet points) to state a 
bit more succinctly why i think TAs aren't storming the VC's office and 
organising their own unions:

- lack of energy/time/cash outside studies
- commitment to furthering academic career at any cost
- short-term degrees: "what's in it for me? i'll be long gone before any 
gains are seen"
- no examples of TAs organising and winning gains in the UK
- ethical emphasis (seen through a paternalistic liberal gaze) on 
distanciated others.
- lack of class analysis (wahey! i had to get that one in there somewhere!)
- a belief that NUS is 'for' undergrads and UCU is 'for' lecturers. thus 
leaving no real or imagined space for postgrads.
- an obsession with 'critical' things (dare i say it, cf. the 
paternalistic liberal ethics of the 'african kid' example above), and 
disregard for more radical ideas (one of my pet hates at the moment)
- a lack of understanding of what unions actually do.
- a lack of respect for what unions actually CAN do if you pull yer 
finger out and do it.
- for the more radical TAs among us, or for TAs who have been in unions 
in the past, a scepticism about the fact that unions seem to do very 
little and tend to roll over like a puppy dog whenever management tells 
them to do so :-D
- a feeling that unions are a bit boring and generally for grey-haired 
old men. [disclaimer: i am actually in a union, and before you ask, i 
don't agree with this one - unions are for young sexy hip kids]

of course, however, these are my subjctive impressions...

ant

Storey AI wrote:
> On a related point Ant, speaking of the people lower down the chain of
> command who have to shoulder the burden of university work: we've heard
> a lot recently about the university lecturers pay dispute, and we're all
> aware of what a strong force for the good the UCU and its antecedents
> were in negotiating a fair settlement for faculty.  I'm sure graduate
> students are grateful for the sacrifices our colleagues have made to
> ensure a better deal for us when we get academic posts.  But what about
> those unrepresented hordes of graduate students in the UK who mark
> papers, take tutorials and seminars and lead field classes?  Like junior
> faculty, the pay's not good and we get taken for a ride a lot.  Unlike
> junior faculty, we have no union, no representation, no recourse.
> Ad-hoc teaching is underpaid and the people who do it undervalued.  Our
> sole channel for redress is directly to the employer with no collective
> voice.  
> 
> Lecturers have the UCU.  VCs have their own little club, I'm sure - I
> forget the acronym.  In North America, graduate TAs very often have
> collective bargaining rights.  In the UK we have nothing.  Why?
> 
> Andy
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for critical and radical geographers
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ant Ince
> Sent: 01 March 2007 09:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: how much is your VC worth?
> 
> 
> from THES: http://www.thes.co.uk/upload/2035374/VCpay0506.pdf
> 
> ant
> 

-- 

Anthony Ince
Research Student
Department of Geography,
Queen Mary, University of London,
Mile End,
E1 4NS

www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/student/ince.html

www.iww.org.uk