Yale :: essays research papers

In January of 1997, Yale University was brought up on Charges of unfair labor practices. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claimed that Yale should pay its teacher assistants as part time faculty. Although these teacher assistants are working they are also graduate students at the school. The NLRB stated that the teacher assistants at the school are a very essential part of the university’s structure. Jut a month prior to all this controversy, Yale University had just settled on a long drawn out contract dispute with its food service and maintenance crew. A spoke person for the university said he hoped that this new problem could be solved quickly and painlessly. The school does not want to hold the reputation of being constantly involved in contract negotiations or legal controversy. The school does not want to hold the reputation of being constantly involved in contract disputes, but as of now it they are. Yale believes that there is no reason for them to pay â€Å"students† for learning how to do their job. The institution feels as though this is just another step in into the real world, it’s a learning experience. On the other hand, the NLRB feels as though the graduate students working as teacher assistants should be paid as a Yale employee. They believe the students ate entitled to receive benefits and fair pay. The NLRB is trying to point out the importance of teacher assistants, without them professors would be forced to teach a larger sized class on their own. The teacher assistants break the group apart into smaller sections of about 25 to 30 students, this gives the students a better teacher-student ratio. Although Yale does hold a strong case, I feel as though the NLRB’s beliefs are the correct one. These â€Å"students† as they are called by Yale university are not just ones ordinary undergraduates, some have other jobs and are working toward their own PHD or masters degree. These individuals are well qualified to teach a small group of undergraduates, therefore they should be paid a reasonable wage. The teacher assistants could be looked at as an extension of the head professor. Some of these TA’s know the students a lot better than the professor does, on a personal or educational level. The Yale University Board claims that they are students who are learning another aspect of teaching, and therefore are still considered students.