UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay • Hacker News Board

Re: UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay

#441

Post by antiterra » Wed, Mar 04, 2020, 7:28 PM UTC

csb6 wrote: post #60

antiterra wrote: post #24

I got filled with righteous internet rage when I read the headline, but then I read the article. The particular strike was implemented by withholding fall grades, which seems to unnecessarily burden students who are to be buried under crushing debt, no? Also, they are apparently unionized and this strike was against the extant agreements. The consequences of not getting a grade can affect a student’s entire career an…

If you read the rest of the article, you would see that the union is alleging that the UC administration was not willing to engage in negotiations to raise compensation for grad students, who were unable to afford their rent payments. It's no wonder a wildcat strike happened. Also, I am saddened by your comment about withholding grades being an unnecessary "burden". That's the point of a strike. What do you think a s…

If you think grad students have it bad, where's your sympathy for low-income college students (Santa Cruz has plenty) trying to qualify for a scholarship, internship or new grad job?

The reductio ad absurdum here is an ER doctor striking and walking out while their patient's chest is wide open, claiming it was the hospital's problem and that they had been warning the hospital for weeks.

Re: UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay

#442

Post by antiterra » Wed, Mar 04, 2020, 7:43 PM UTC

aaomidi wrote: post #38

antiterra wrote: post #24

I got filled with righteous internet rage when I read the headline, but then I read the article. The particular strike was implemented by withholding fall grades, which seems to unnecessarily burden students who are to be buried under crushing debt, no? Also, they are apparently unionized and this strike was against the extant agreements. The consequences of not getting a grade can affect a student’s entire career an…

It's like protests is meant to cause a disruption. I really have a terrible place in my heart for people who criticize protests because it caused a disruption. That's the point of a protest. I'm very happy for you that you've never felt the need to take these drastic steps, but they're protesting real issues and real problems they're having. The grades are ultimately the universities problem

I sense you've never been a low-income undergrad who has experienced the crushing burden of repaying a student loan without having either the a degree or career prospects to show for it.

Re: UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay

#443

Post by kortilla » Sun, Mar 08, 2020, 11:37 PM UTC

simonh wrote: post #354

kortilla wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless it’s worse. The assumption that forming a union and entering into effectively hostile negotiations with the company will result in a better compensation is unfounded.

It's perfectly founded, because I have seen it happen. Back in the 80s was a Thatcher believer, still am really, but in the 90s I was a member of a moderate public sector union in the UK and saw it working from the inside. It was a real eye opener, the union had huge experience in health and safety (a significant issue in that organisation), the unintended side effects of various policies and procedures, all sorts of…

It can’t be “perfectly founded“ if it “doesn’t always work”.

Re: UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay

#444

Post by kortilla » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 2:38 AM UTC

diffeomorphism wrote: post #368

kortilla wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless it’s worse. The assumption that forming a union and entering into effectively hostile negotiations with the company will result in a better compensation is unfounded.

> The assumption ... is unfounded. Considering that many, many countries exist where this is the case (most of the time), this seems to be very well founded.

But they were in a country where the relationship has been bad since the beginning

Re: UC Santa Cruz fires 54 grad students who were striking for higher pay

#445

Post by kortilla » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 2:40 AM UTC

corinroyal wrote: post #403

kortilla wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless it’s worse. The assumption that forming a union and entering into effectively hostile negotiations with the company will result in a better compensation is unfounded.

Says a guy who never bothered to learn labor history, but feels he must know better anyway because somebody pays him good money for something. HN in a nutshell.

I find it hard to believe anyone that knows anything about labor history in the US could assume that company/union relations can be assumed to go well.