UW–Madison policies about graduate students are complex. Some of this is necessary complexity — after all, many of us are employees and students at the same time, and need to be protected and supported in both those roles. But in many cases, grad policy is complex because administrators make it complex — to fit the…
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This week’s Cap Times cover story shines a spotlight on UW–Madison graduate workers’ long struggle for quality workplace protections. The article highlights the precarity and stress of working as a graduate assistant, and the fight for new policies and decision-making power. You can also listen to a short podcast, where reporter Yvonne Kim discusses what…
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Note: This article includes mentions of suicide. Graduate workers and community supporters gathered on Engineering Mall on Thursday to protest the return of abusive engineering professor Dr. Akbar Sayeed to campus and demand stronger workplace protections for grads. “We’re demanding that graduate assistants have a meaningful voice in crafting policies of the kinds that would…
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A coalition of graduate workers and University Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) members interrupted a reception celebrating shared governance on Wednesday, shining light on how workers are shut out of university decision-making processes. “We are never seriously consulted about things like fees, pay, increased resources for diversity and inclusion workers, and benefits,” sociology graduate student…
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A new draft of university-wide policies for research assistants (RAs), obtained by the TAA, falls short of guaranteeing fair treatment in the workplace. Designed to be part of the Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures (GAPP) handbook, which currently excludes RAs and graduate lecturers (LSAs), these draft policies ignore two years of GAPP workgroup discussions with…
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Graduate workers and allies gathered on Bascom Hill on the first day of the fall semester to show solidarity, educate passersby on graduate workplace issues, and deliver over 800 new petition signatures to university administrators. “We are here to kick off the school year by reminding the administration that our campaign for mandatory fee relief…
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UW-Madison Graduate School released a set of Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures (GAPP) on May 14. This document, released at the end of the academic year, strips workplace protections for graduate workers and excludes thousands of research assistants and lecturers. Sign and share this TAA petition today to support graduate workers in our fight for a…
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On April 26, Co-Presidents of the Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA) attended a meeting with university administrators calling for them to commit to supporting graduate workers and international students at UW-Madison. The meeting was proposed in a letter from Vice Chancellor Heller and Dean Karpus after informing the TAA that our call for fair pay, fee…
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UW-Madison administrators left a meeting with TAA members and called the police to remove them from the meeting room after reaffirming the university’s stance to deny graduate workers basic workplace rights. Police officers arrived 30 minutes after the meeting started and issued a warning of arrest. The meeting was proposed by Vice Chancellor Heller and Dean…
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In response to the April 4 sit-in, UW administrators wrote TAA Co-Presidents a letter explaining why the university should deny graduate workers a living wage, mandatory fee relief, and clear workplace policies. In the letter signed by Vice Chancellor Heller and Dean Karpus, the administrators failed to address any issues graduate workers brought up during…
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