On behalf of the Campus Faculty Association, I am writing to express our strong support for the Graduate Employees Organization and their strike effort, and to explain why so many professors think the University of Illinois is treating its graduate employees unfairly.

As in many strikes, the main issue is money. But the GEO is not asking for an across-the-board raise. Instead, they are trying to get the university to raise the MINIMUM salary for teaching assistants (mostly earned by TAs in the arts and humanities) to the amount the university itself defines as needed for living expenses in Champaign-Urbana. The GEO is not even asking for raises for TAs who already make more than that amount (mostly those in business and the sciences). Just to fill you in on how much money is involved—many TAs who teach 20 hours a week (and spend the rest of their time studying) now earn only $13,430 per year.

The administration claims that the university is in a financial crisis, and cannot afford to give raises to anyone. It is certainly true that service workers, secretaries, and (most) faculty are not getting any raises. In fact, we are facing a pay cut (misleadingly labeled a “furlough”) in the spring. However, a number of high-level administrators have done very well for themselves this year, most notably our ex-chancellor, who will continue to receive his current salary of $395,500 until next June for being a “special assistant to the president,” then draw $244,444 per year in the future, in return for teaching just two courses. The Campus Faculty Association believes the University should reexamine its priorities and allocate sufficient funds to adequately pay its TAs—the hard-working and dedicated graduate students who do almost a quarter of all undergraduate teaching at the University of Illinois.

A further sticking point has been the issue of “tuition and fee waivers.” Graduate students who teach FOR the university do not currently pay tuition TO the university. However, the administration has been threatening to cut back on the categories of graduate assistants entitled to such waivers. Many graduate students who made the decision to come to the U of I based on the promise of such waivers would have to drop out if they lose them. The university would also have much more trouble attracting excellent graduate students from poor or middle-class backgrounds.

The Campus Faculty Association salutes the members of GEO for their courage and determination. We call on the administration to withdraw its threats of retaliation against those who support the strike, bargain honestly with GEO, and give all graduate employees a living wage.

Megan McLaughlin,

Professor of history and Campus Faculty Association president