Tuesday, March 2, 1999
GSA fails to inform voters
RIGHTS: Graduate students denied access to facts from both sides
of union representation debate
By Adam Frankel
Let’s clear the air of what some may perceive to be a stench on
the UCLA campus, regarding the upcoming unionization election.
On March 9, 10 and 11 UCLA’s teaching assistants (TAs), tutors
and readers will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not
they will be represented by a union, namely the United Auto Workers
(UAW).
It seems clear that some members of both the Graduate Students
Association (GSA) and the Student Association of Graduate Employees
(SAGE) don’t want graduate students to know both sides of the
issue.
I should briefly clarify the roles of both GSA and SAGE. Over 60
years old, GSA is the graduate student government whose
responsibilities include representing the educational interests of
graduate and professional students here at UCLA.
SAGE, on the other hand, is concerned with securing collective
bargaining rights for TAs, tutors and readers on campus – in brief,
SAGE/UAW wants to represent TAs, tutors and readers as employees.
It is unfortunate that the similar abbreviations for both GSA and
SAGE often cause confusion for what they each represent.
The Math and Physical Sciences Council (MPSC) of GSA, which
represents several departments on South Campus, chose to provide
factual information on the upcoming election and to give students
information from both sides of the issue, since this appears to be
one of the most significant issues on campus. (Have you been asked
recently if you are a TA?)
On Feb. 17, MPSC requested that the GSA provide this unbiased
information regarding the upcoming election to the entire graduate
student body, as well as access to the views of both sides of the
issue. Regrettably, a majority of GSA forum delegates voted against
informing the electorate in this way.
Resisting silence, MPSC has created a web page that presents
information from the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) which
is conducting the March election, a statement by SAGE and its
contact information, and a letter from Chancellor Carnesale
addressing this issue. MPSC urges you to investigate all sides of
this issue since it is significant to the future of all graduate
students!
This information is available at
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~chris/mpsc/union.html.
As a GSA representative in the department of chemistry and
biochemistry, I believe that we are all students here primarily for
an education, regardless of what title one may have within a
department.
I see no benefit in turning the UCLA administration into our
adversary by introducing a third party into the mix. Less
antagonistic avenues have not been explored to ease the burden of
being a graduate student with hefty responsibilities.
By refusing to inform the graduate student electorate about this
important election, GSA has failed in its duty to serve the
interests of UCLA’s graduate students. These students are often too
busy to devote much time to issues which have great bearing on
them.
Isn’t it the role of our representatives to steer us toward an
informed decision? Whatever your opinion may be, our (the members
of the MPSC’s) hope is that you vote informed!
Comments, feedback, problems?
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