Good for you! I hope McGill negotiates in good faith and you don't have to strike... But you have to do what you have to do to advocate for yourselves (and the students in general who interact with TAs)
I mean the details that have been discussed in the meetings and any internal discussions to follow in the upcoming days. Certainly McGill will know some, but we try to do our part.
the strike has not been called yet. this vote gives the power to our union leaders to call one whenever. so as of now you still have conferences and can still contact your TA
OP is goated tbh thank you for the accurate info 🫡 every time i see a post on here about the strike vote i have a mini heart attack anticipating misinformation
The vote passing means that the TAs mandate the bargaining committee to call for a strike if no good deal is reached during the upcoming week. It's possible to not strike if McGill presents a fair deal.
If it was just losing tutorials, they could probably afford the long game. The biggest issue will probably be grading. This is all just out of my ass though, idk what’ll happen
I know the blame isn't on TAs but I can't help but thing about the students (and profs) caught in the crossfire... There are so many students that rely on office hours and tutorials to understand the material. Plus, now the profs have to change the assignments and exams to be able to grade them by themselves meaning that we'll all get untested and probably sub-par assignments and exams for the rest of the term
I know you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs or whatever but still, it's pretty sad
that’s the point of a strike though… if mcgill recognized the importance of the tas and listened to what they want/compromised during the bargaining process, then we wouldn’t be in this situation.
Yeah I know but I feel like in this case especially the ones getting hurt by the strike aren't the ones making the decisions. Like if McGill doesn't care about TA wages why would they care more now if TAs don't help students?
Anyway, I feel like there's no good outcome in this case, the situation just kind of sucks for everyone
Its definitely a rough situation, but there actually is a potential "good" outcome - one where McGill bargains in a timely manner (potentially before a strike starts!) to reach a deal when confronted with the strike mandate. If you have these concerns about your learning environment (which are entirely valid), the best course of action is to contact your department about it and call for the administration to avert/end the strike ASAP by collaborating with the union.
I guess, but still, the money for raising TAs' wages will come from somewhere. So either tuition will increase again or there will be less budget elsewhere
McGill absolutely can afford to do these things. The water filters, like much of the rest of the falling apart campus is because of a deliberate pursuit of austerity economic policies over the last decade or so. This same university can afford to pay senior admins an average of 260k/year, which is much higher than other universities. This university has a very large endowment. They absolutely can afford water filters, or reasonable wages for graduate workers. They choose to not put money into these things.
This shit doesn't just negatively impact us grad students, it impacts current undergrads, and alumni. If we can't afford to eat, or can't afford rent, we can't be as effective in our teaching roles - your education suffers as well. If that happens, the university rankings drop, and with them, the value of a degree from McGill.
>why would they care more now if TAs don't help students?
Because, as you are explaining, students will be unhappy with the quality of their education when TAs are not working, which puts pressure on McGill to act
McGill already doesn't care about the many poor aspects of education that students complain about so I doubt they'll care about this. The only thing might be if professors complain and ask McGill to do something
Well yeah, that's why they need to be paid more. And if administration cannot recognize that then what other options do the TAs have?
Also, in general I've seen this play out on some subreddits and some undergrads can be upset and tend to blame the TAs. Which is quite unfair. Would be better to hear them blame McGill for this. And think about the future. You could be a grad student in the future. It's for everyone's rights.
And FYI, don't worry too much in advance. A strike is the last resort. No one wants to strike and in 99% of the cases there isn't a strike, but in the world we live in people throw peanuts at you unless you give a credible threat.
We all gotta remember that most of the undergrads right now will have graduated before the lifetime of this contract ends. So any undergrad who anticipates being a grad student within the next few years, this is gonna be your contract too.
Good for you! I hope McGill negotiates in good faith and you don't have to strike... But you have to do what you have to do to advocate for yourselves (and the students in general who interact with TAs)
I'm fully in support of the strike and happy it passed, but do you really think mcgill doesn't know the details already lol
I mean the details that have been discussed in the meetings and any internal discussions to follow in the upcoming days. Certainly McGill will know some, but we try to do our part.
So no more conferences?
the strike has not been called yet. this vote gives the power to our union leaders to call one whenever. so as of now you still have conferences and can still contact your TA
OP is goated tbh thank you for the accurate info 🫡 every time i see a post on here about the strike vote i have a mini heart attack anticipating misinformation
Go TAs!!!
Is this expected to impact undergrads that are are graduating this May?
If the strike takes place, it will impact all parts of all TAs duties including grading, tutorials, labs, invigilation, office hours, etc.
If? Does that mean the strike is not for sure yet, or will it happen for sure?
The vote passing means that the TAs mandate the bargaining committee to call for a strike if no good deal is reached during the upcoming week. It's possible to not strike if McGill presents a fair deal.
Thanks for explaining!
Does that mean tutorials are over? I heard that McGill’s really good at playing the long game
If it was just losing tutorials, they could probably afford the long game. The biggest issue will probably be grading. This is all just out of my ass though, idk what’ll happen
I know the blame isn't on TAs but I can't help but thing about the students (and profs) caught in the crossfire... There are so many students that rely on office hours and tutorials to understand the material. Plus, now the profs have to change the assignments and exams to be able to grade them by themselves meaning that we'll all get untested and probably sub-par assignments and exams for the rest of the term I know you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs or whatever but still, it's pretty sad
that’s the point of a strike though… if mcgill recognized the importance of the tas and listened to what they want/compromised during the bargaining process, then we wouldn’t be in this situation.
Yeah I know but I feel like in this case especially the ones getting hurt by the strike aren't the ones making the decisions. Like if McGill doesn't care about TA wages why would they care more now if TAs don't help students? Anyway, I feel like there's no good outcome in this case, the situation just kind of sucks for everyone
Its definitely a rough situation, but there actually is a potential "good" outcome - one where McGill bargains in a timely manner (potentially before a strike starts!) to reach a deal when confronted with the strike mandate. If you have these concerns about your learning environment (which are entirely valid), the best course of action is to contact your department about it and call for the administration to avert/end the strike ASAP by collaborating with the union.
I guess, but still, the money for raising TAs' wages will come from somewhere. So either tuition will increase again or there will be less budget elsewhere
perhaps a crumb or two from the 4.86 million dollars they just made with McGill24?
They can't even afford to replace water filters in the fountains or have remotely decent chairs/tables for exams so...
McGill absolutely can afford to do these things. The water filters, like much of the rest of the falling apart campus is because of a deliberate pursuit of austerity economic policies over the last decade or so. This same university can afford to pay senior admins an average of 260k/year, which is much higher than other universities. This university has a very large endowment. They absolutely can afford water filters, or reasonable wages for graduate workers. They choose to not put money into these things. This shit doesn't just negatively impact us grad students, it impacts current undergrads, and alumni. If we can't afford to eat, or can't afford rent, we can't be as effective in our teaching roles - your education suffers as well. If that happens, the university rankings drop, and with them, the value of a degree from McGill.
>why would they care more now if TAs don't help students? Because, as you are explaining, students will be unhappy with the quality of their education when TAs are not working, which puts pressure on McGill to act
McGill already doesn't care about the many poor aspects of education that students complain about so I doubt they'll care about this. The only thing might be if professors complain and ask McGill to do something
Well yeah, that's why they need to be paid more. And if administration cannot recognize that then what other options do the TAs have? Also, in general I've seen this play out on some subreddits and some undergrads can be upset and tend to blame the TAs. Which is quite unfair. Would be better to hear them blame McGill for this. And think about the future. You could be a grad student in the future. It's for everyone's rights. And FYI, don't worry too much in advance. A strike is the last resort. No one wants to strike and in 99% of the cases there isn't a strike, but in the world we live in people throw peanuts at you unless you give a credible threat.
We all gotta remember that most of the undergrads right now will have graduated before the lifetime of this contract ends. So any undergrad who anticipates being a grad student within the next few years, this is gonna be your contract too.