We teach two-thirds of the classes and do one-third of the grading. We lead review sessions, we answer questions and we help break down big classes into smaller recitations and labs. We are the personal connection between students and instructors in large lectures. We are the 1,300-plus teaching assistants of MSU, organized as the Graduate Employees Union, or GEU.
This past fall we began negotiating our third contract with MSU. When we asked the administration for a wage increase to help accommodate the rising cost of living, they offered us a zero-percent increase for the next four years. Accounting for inflation, that equals a 16 percent pay cut.
We are the only labor union on campus who will not receive a 2.75 percent pay increase this year. No matter where we live, we are affected by inflation, estimated at 4 percent for the past year. If we live at Spartan Village, our rent is going up 5 percent. By MSU’s own estimates, our current income is insufficient to live in East Lansing. We are the majority (about 70 percent) of customers at the MSU Food Bank.
It is outrageous that the administration expects us to continue “advancing knowledge” and “transforming lives” for ever-decreasing compensation. We are professionals providing a service for the university — we deserve to be treated as professionals.
Stand up for your TAs, for other graduate students and for your future fellow faculty members. Contact President Lou Anna K. Simon and the MSU Board of Trustees. Tell them MSU TAs deserve fair wages and a fair contract.
Kristin Bott
zoology graduate student and Graduate Employees Union vice president for organizing and outreach
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