Massive pickets at my uni!

[RedFred]

Sprayber, probably so. But I happen to know someone on the Uni side's bargaining team. I believe she said that they already looked for other precedents.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Because professors don't have to pay tuition?

So? I have to pay tuition.

TA's are working to pay tuition. Tuition costs affect everyone, whether they're a TA or not. The reason tuition costs are going up is not because they think it's more fun to take money from the students, it's because they need more profs/buildings/etc.

It makes zero sense to give TAs a pay boost proportional to the increase in the cost of tuition. The vast majority of people attending school don't work as TAs, we don't get a pay raise every time tuition increases, and neither should TAs.

Whether they're graduate students or not doesn't mean anything. Undergrads and grads both need to pay more with higher tuition, wasting lots of the money the undergrads have to pay to get a better education to give the TA's some extraordinary wage is ridiculous. That money should be going into the school -- that's why the tuition is increasing!

[Asher]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Why does everyone expect workers to be slaves?

Slaves???

They get paid pretty damn decently for what they do, and they turned down a ~10% pay raise offer and demand something like 40%.

I'm expecting workers to do their job at a reasonable wage, not work as slaves.

TAs here make $20/hr and the vast majority of them don't do much, at all. Slaves they are not.

[notyoueither]

I think it is quite understandable that tuition and pay for TAs be linked somehow. The TAships are there to help people get through their programs, aren't they?

[Asher]

Originally posted by notyoueither
I think it is quite understandable that tuition and pay for TAs be linked somehow. The TAships are there to help people get through their programs, aren't they?

I think they should get some boost, I think 10% is more than reasonable.

I don't think they should get a 40% payraise because tuition went up 40%...

[notyoueither]

Without knowing the relative costs, which haven't been posted, how do you know 10% is reasonable? Exactly matching is probably too much, but what is too little?

RedFred?

[Asher]

If the pay was unreasonable, why do they do it?

If the pay is unreasonable, don't accept the damn job, then watch as the pay increases until people find it acceptable...

[notyoueither]

Asher, someone planned a program at that university 2 years ago. That program might last 4 or 6 years. They budgeted on certain numbers, including TAships which they were offered.

Now, their tuition gets jacked, but the increase in the TAship does not cover. You can't see why they would want to try to get enough to cover the increased costs of finishing their program?

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Asher

Alberta has legislation limiting tuition increases to 8% per year.

The reason your tuition went up so much so fast was because the retarded NDP thought the solution would be to put a tuition freeze on for a long time.

Ahhh, BC.

Quebec has had frozen tuition for 10 years. They're doing fine.

[Asher]

Big deal, **** happens.

I'm dealing with the same crap with differential tuition, compsci costs are going up at the maximum 8% per year every year for many years.

Such is life. I entered the program when it was $4000/year, it's $5000/year now, $5400 next year, ~$5900 the next year..

It's stuff you gotta deal with. I agree they should get some payraise, but nothing extraordinary like they want. They're just greedy.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Frogger
Quebec has had frozen tuition for 10 years. They're doing fine.

And now explain to everyone how much money from the federal government goes into appeasing Quebec (and its universities)

It's easy to put a tuition freeze in if the government will continue to throw money in your general direction.

[KrazyHorse]

Quebec is a net beneficiary by a fairly insignificant amount (lowest per-capita of all the net recipients). Quebec universities are funded, by and large, by the provincial government.

[KrazyHorse]

Need we discuss how easy it would be for Alberta, which derives 1/3 of its public income from sitting on a giant oil well?

[Asher]

Alberta is at a net loss, by a hugely significant amount.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Frogger
Need we discuss how easy it would be for Alberta, which derives 1/3 of its public income from sitting on a giant oil well?

1/3?
The budget is $20B/year.
$3B is energy revenue.

My math's rusty, but...