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Tuition remission isn’t exactly payment though. I personally would not have gone to grad school at all if I didn’t get 50% off my tuition for being a grad assistant. The actual pay would maybe cover books for a semester.

What I would like to know is whether Temple is violating labor laws by retaliating against striking workers.

Important part of the article.

“In accordance with Pennsylvania law, those TUGSA members who have
chosen not to work are no longer entitled to their compensation and
work-related benefits, which include tuition remission, when they are on
strike and not performing work for the university,” the school said in a
statement. “Because striking workers are not entitled to tuition
remission, they have been notified of their obligation to make
arrangements to pay their tuition, consistent with how the university
treats other students who have unpaid tuition obligations.”

​

I'm sure the TUGSA knew of the actions Temple could take if they went on strike and included that in the calculus. It's probably work out in their favor because of the bad press the University will get over this.

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Did they think that?

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Ah, that's fair and makes sense.

True, there’s never a time when a Big Entity breaks labor laws. 😐

As shitty as it is for the workers if that's the contract language, then that's how it is. I'm a union worker, and we are not allowed to strike per our contract which means if my office were going to act like we were; we would have to use vacation/break/outside of work hours to picket.

It might not be payment but it’s compensation of some form. You got something in exchange for being a grad assistant. Is every grad student a grad assistant?

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Life lesson kids. If you stop working your employer can stop paying you.

They aren't kids, they're probably all in the 25-35 age range. What they are is exploited cheap labor so that the university doesn't have to pay more for professors who have finished their PhD already.

Not sure what all they are demanding as I'm not following this strike, but I wouldn't just write them off as kids who don't have a valid issue with how things are being run. They are students, but they are also employees.

Man it would have been nice to not have years and years of student loan debt to pay off

I believe paid parental leave and a significant increase in pay.

I’m familiar with what a TA is. Saying “kids” is both a euphemism for their naïveté and an acknowledgement that I’m an old guy. Regardless, the point stands. You know they get an education and health insurance along with their pay. And they are not trained teachers. What do they think should happen when they walk out of work? In PA especially. I mean get real. Looks like some profs will need to grade their own papers for a while I guess

Seems like textbook retaliation to me

Yeah! Just keep licking those boots kids!

They’re aren’t just grading drones as you’re implying. The world-class research our country produces would grind to a halt without graduate students like these. The least our universities could do is pay them a living wage to cover cost of living in a major city.

Even if I agree with you on that (which I actually do) no one should expect to get paid if they go on strike. That’s the cost of striking. Management is not and should not be required to pay you and provide benefits when you don’t show up. I run a small business and I can’t imagine having to pay someone for not working.

As soon as I read they've been threatening students with bad grades for showing up to class I lost all sympathy.

I mean it’s shitty but PA law says they’re allowed to do it.

Source?

Campus flyers

Great source /s

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When education becomes propaganda.

Which honestly, is the dumbest sort of agreement. "You can only take action against us if we say it's ok".

Life lesson kids, don't be like Gumble here that's content with crumbs

I’m just kidding. Of course someone should pay you for not working, and if they don’t you’re clearly being exploited.

Temple has been sliding downhill for awhile - this surely won't help at all

source: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/temple-university

It would be an unmitigated disaster if my office (welfare) were allowed to strike and did so. Probably more of a mess than if police did.

Nobody would notice if cops decided to stop working beyond a better quality of life.

I can see very few instances where people shouldn't be allowed to. Your situation, sure. Retail and office workers it's dumb. If they're that integral they need to be paid better.

Support the strikers by signing the petition - https://www.tugsa.org/strike

Not aware of anywhere striking workers retain pay and benefits. I take it these students didn't pay attention in history class.

It's also illegal for Temple to retaliate against them for organizing.

Federal law says otherwise.

Retaliation against workers attempting to organize is illegal under federal labor law.

This is a strike, not an attempt to organize.

https://billypenn.com/2023/02/10/temple-university-graduate-student-strike-tugsa/

 
There's no practical difference and Temple is breaking the law.

There is every difference. This union was organized years ago, the strike has to do with wage dissatisfaction. Striking workers aren't entitled to pay or benefits.