An open letter to the University of Oregon administration about the GTFF strike.

I've been following the labor dispute between the University of Oregon administration and graduate students the ever since my friend Meaghan - a PhD student there - wrote this blog post on the ongoing graduate student contract negotiations. In the time since she published this post, bargaining with the University of Oregon administrators failed to yield an agreement on paid sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, and liveable wages for all graduate teaching and research assistants. To add insult to injury, the University of Oregon administrators have been playing a borderline unethical PR game against the UO graduate students union, including a plan to break the strike by effectively undermining the academic integrity of the University. You can find more details on what has lead to the strike here and here as well. My goal is not to sift through the details of why the strike is happening. I'm here to make a case for why it should never have happened in the first place. And make no mistake, that the situation has come to this is a disgrace to the University of Oregon as an institution of higher learning and research.

Let me explain.

Many of these lovely folks had some role in whipping me into shape
during my time at UO as teaching assistants in courses I took.

I was never, nor will I be, a graduate student at the University of Oregon. My stake in this is a different kind of personal. As an undergraduate in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Oregon, I had the privilege of working with some outstanding graduate teaching fellows (GTFs; known as TAs/teaching assistants elsewhere). These GTFs made an indelible mark on me as an aspiring scientist and educator, and set an example I strove to emulate later as a graduate student and teaching assistant at Oklahoma State University. 

The knowledge and wisdom they imparted to me is something I could never put a price on, ever. I can confidently say that I would not be who or where I am today without their support, guidance, and influence. So it really boils my blood when I hear that the UO administration is saying the GTFs aren't important enough for an honest, contractually designated livable wage, parental leave, or sick leave. GTFs are the heart and soul of the education and research missions of the University. They grade papers and labs. They publish research. They work one on one with students in labs and classes. They mentor students who aspire to someday help expand the breadth of human knowledge, and share their wonder and excitement for their field of study. They inspire, engage, inform, and do their damnedest to impart a sense of taking pride in one's work. (For example, don't just tear sheets out of your notebook and hand them in. It looks sloppy and lazy. I never thought about it much before, but after being called out by my GTF I cut that shit out right away.)

My questions therefore to the administrators at the University of Oregon are simply these: Who do you think you are to disrespect, patronize, and undermine these already overworked, under-paid souls? Who do you think you are to tell them they don't deserve sick leave, or parental leave if they want to start a family? Who do you think you are to tell them they don't deserve a livable wage? These GTFs are the University of Oregon. Your treatment of them in this ordeal shows that you only value them for their ability to grade papers and churn students through classes. GTFs interact with most students on a much more personal level than many faculty. It's the nature of their job. My GTFs inspired me to be better than I was, both personally and professionally. All you and your predecessors ever seemed to do was raise my tuition; if those tuition hikes had gone towards better pay and benefits for the people who engage in front lines of the education, research, and scholarship missions of the University, I would be all for it. Clearly they did not, and are not being used as such now.

Think hard on these questions, residents of Johnson Hall. As an alumnus of the University of Oregon, I have always bragged about the outstanding people I had the privilege of working with during my time there. I would recommend Oregon to promising, enthusiastic undergrads and Masters students looking for graduate programs. Your treatment of the GTFs is a black mark on the University as a destination for the future educators, leaders, innovators, and researchers looking for graduate programs to apply to. Look past your pride and ask yourself if this is what you want your legacy to be at the University of Oregon. We alumni are watching, and many of us do not take kindly to you tarnishing our beloved University, or disparaging the graduate teaching fellows who contribute so, so much to making the University of Oregon the amazing place it is.


 

Sincerely yours,
David Levering, M.S.
Education Director
Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Fort Hays State University
UO Department of Geological Sciences, class of 2007

Oregon, our Alma Mater,
We will guard thee on and on,
Let us gather 'round and cheer her,
Chant her glory, Oregon!
Roar the praises of her educators,
Sing the story, Oregon,
On to vict'ry urge the researchers
Of our Mighty Oregon!
(bridge)
Go! Ducks! Go!
Fight! Ducks! Fight!
Go!
Fight!
Win! Ducks! Win!

P.S.  If you would like to support the UO GTFF 3544 Union, you can get in touch with them through Twitter @GTFF3544. You can also donate to the GTFF 3544 by following this link.